Orani, Ancient Church of Sant'Andrea Apostolo

Orani is located in the Barbagia di Ollollai, more precisely at the foot of Monte Gonare (1100 m above sea level), between the plain of Ottana and the Gennargentu mountain range. The area is rich in archaeological sites starting from prehistoric times. The current configuration of Orani is the result of the union of two villages, that of San Sisto and that of Sant'Andrea. The church dedicated to the Apostle must have been the parish church of the homonymous village, then of the entire town, which became a “villa” in 1617. Already in the 19th century, the building was in very poor condition, abandoned in favor of the new parish church built at that time in the center of today's town and always dedicated to Sant'Andrea.
The church dedicated to Sant'Andrea Apostolo is in very poor condition, making it little more than a ruin that is difficult to read. The most convincing dating hypothesis ascribes the factory to a period between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century.
The church must have a Greek cross plan, in accordance with the naming to Saint Andrew. Traces of chapels turned both in barrels and in a cross can be found. The church is made of mixed stone held together by mortar and covered with plaster, except for jambs and lintels of the side doors, in exposed volcanic stone.
The façade, originally sloping, was later modified with a flat, crenellated finish, in line with the formal requirements on the island in the 17th century. In the center, the main portal opens, surmounted by a pointed relief arch, also molded, inside which there is a carved ashlar depicting the cross of Saint Andrew. A polylobed cross is placed at the top of the triangular tympanum. Windows opened at the three portals. The best-preserved part of the building is the square-shaped bell tower, in perfectly squared volcanic stone ashlars, divided into six levels by thin shaped frames and ending in a catton-shaped spire. In the upper part, slender sharp-pointed single-light windows open.

History of studies
The most exhaustive analysis can be found in the fact sheet of the volume by Francesca Segni Pulvirenti and Aldo Sari (1994) on late Gothic and Renaissance-influenced architecture.

Bibliography
V. Angius, “Orani”, in G: Casalis, Historical-Statistical-Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States by H.M. the King of Sardinia, XIII, Turin, G. Maspero, 1845, pp. 193-209; A. Bonfante-G. Charter, Shrines and Country Churches of the Diocese of Nuoro, Nuoro, 1992, pp. 156-157;
F. Segni Pulvirenti - A. Sari, Late Gothic and Renaissance-influenced architecture. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1994, sheet 48.