Usini, Church of San Giorgio di Oliastreto

The territory of Usini is rich in archaeological documentation starting from prehistoric times. The church of San Giorgio di Oliastreto, reduced to an open-air ruin, corresponds to the site of an abandoned village.
News of the title “sancti Giorgi de Oliastreto” dates back to 1135 in connection with a quarrel between the canons of San Gavino di Torres and the monks of San Pietro di Nurchi. In 1176, the church became the parish church of a village that was later abandoned.
The room is single-aisled, with a semicircular apse oriented to N/E. The factory is built in medium and large limestone cantons. It was originally supposed to be covered in wood.
The composition of the façade, lost due to collapses, can be returned by means of photographs from the seventies of the last century. The surface was enclosed by corner pilasters and in the center the arched portal opened with a raised relief arch.
In the side terminals, arches on feet ran along the entire length of the building, which drew light from trumped single-light windows. The apse has partially collapsed: traces of plaster remain inside and in the semicircle there are a series of shelves without structural function, surmounted by a worked frame.

History of studies
News about Usini and the church of San Giorgio can be read in the entries “Sassari” (1849) and “Usini” (1853) by Vittorio Angius for the Casalis “Dictionary”. In 1974 and 1981, Aldo Sari first included the church in the architectural landscape of Sardinian Romanesque architecture. More recent are the contributions of Gianpiero Sanna (1992) and Roberto Coroneo (1993).

Bibliography
V. Angius, “Sassari”, in G. Casalis, Historical-Statistical-Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States by H.M. the King of Sardinia, XIX, Turin, G. Maspero, 1849, p. 326, p. 435;
V. Angius, “Usini”, in G. Casalis, Historical, Statistical and Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States by H.M. the King of Sardinia, XXIII, Turin, G. Maspero, 1853, p. 326, p. 435;
A. Sari, “An unprecedented medieval monument in Sassarassari, “An unprecedented medieval monument in Sassarassari Sese (San Giorgio di Usini)”, in Sardinian Studies, XXIII, 1973-74, part I, pp. 229- 237;
A. Sari, “New architectural testimonies for the knowledge of the Middle Ages in Sardinia”, in Archivio Storico Sardo, XXXII, 1981, pp. 72-78;
G. Sanna, Usini, Historical-descriptive reconstruction of a village in the Logudoro, Ozieri, 1992, p. 93, pp. 117-121, p. 126; R. Coroneo, Romanesque Architecture from the mid-thousand to the early '300. Nuoro, Ilisso, 1993, sheet 85;
R. Coroneo, Romanesque Churches of Sardinia. Tourist-cultural itineraries, Cagliari, AV, 2005, p. 27.

How to get there
Usini is about 10 km from Sassari on SP 28. The ruins of the church of San Giorgio di Oliastreto (or Ollastreto) are located in a rural area not far from the town.