Orani, Church of Sant'Andrea Apostolo

Orani is a medieval training center. Its territory is rich in archaeological documentation from prehistoric times. The church, impressive, dominates the town with its sharp volumes.
Abandoned since the beginning of the nineteenth century, the ancient parish church of Sant'Andrea Apostolo, of which the ruins and the Gothic-Catalan bell tower remain, the construction of the new church began. The lack of funds significantly slowed down the start of work and only in 1867 was the construction site entrusted to the Nuoro architect Giacomo Galfrè; a serious dispute between the company and the Municipality led to a long interruption, so much so that the building was finished only in 1930.
The church of Sant'Andrea is one of the later creations of neoclassical forms in Sardinia with a predominantly Palladian orientation. The architect Galfrè re-elaborates in a monumental key a motif already tested in the Bitti fountain: the tympanated tetrastile pronaos, which in the Oranese church overhangs the building and is supported by Tuscan columns. The interior is large and bright, characterized by a Greek cross plan; the hemispherical dome with a lantern ending is placed at the intersection of the arms. A jutting, molded entablature runs along the perimeter of the building; pilasters and ionic semicolumns mark the surfaces on the walls.

History of studies
The church is the subject of a brief summary in Salvatore Naitza's volume on late seventeenth-century and purist architecture (1992).

Bibliography of
S. Naitza, Architecture from the late 17th century to purist classicism. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1992, sheet 94;
G. Zirottu, Orani, Nuoro, 2000.