Collinas, Church of San Michele Arcangelo

The town of Collinas, in the province of Medio Campidano, is located in an area of the valley floor of the eastern Marmilla. In the territory there are archaeological testimonies from prehistoric to Roman times. The parish church of San Michele Arcangelo is located in the village.
In 1840, the town of Collinas was registered by Abbot Vittorio Angius with the ancient toponym Forru. It was the philosopher Gian Battista Tuveri, its most illustrious citizen, who had the name Collinas adopted by royal decree in 1864. In medieval times, the villa, included in the court of Arborea, was part of the curatorship of Montis and was dependent on the diocese of Terralba, which joined that of Usellus-Ales in 1503.
The church can be reached along a wide staircase, which narrows near the façade. This is concluded above all by a manneristic crowning doubly inflicted as a 'carabiniere's hat'. The wall wall, made of carefully squared rows of ashlars, houses a tall portal framed by a double molded frame, which has a phytomorphic decorative pattern on both sides. The gray color of the frame is echoed by the ashlars arranged alternately along the jambs. In line with the portal is an arched rectangular window. In the wall between the window and the wall, two symmetrical stone decorations with a spiraliform pattern stand out. A building is attached to the apsidal part of the building, which overlooks the open oculus in the back wall of the presbytery. On the left side of the main façade is a tall unfinished bell tower divided into three orders. The first, with a square barrel, is concluded above by a frame; the second is polygonal, as is the bell cell, smaller in size. In the bell cell, in which single-light windows are placed, the clocks are placed.
The starting date of the San Michele Arcangelo factory is unknown, but there is a note, written in the Sardinian language and dated August 7, 1571, with which the picapedrer Juan Santus Porru, now at the end of the choir chapel, declares that he has received twenty pounds for the work he is doing in the church. It seems that the church, with its triangular plan, was already completed in 1590, even with the three chapels open on each side, although not finished. Documentary sources show that in 1592 the third chapel on the left was built, dedicated to the Crucifix, and that in 1602 the one dedicated to Saint Anthony the Abbot, now dedicated to Saint Ignazio da Laconi, was completed. Also from documents, we learn that in 1603 the second chapel on the left was completed, then dedicated to Sant'Antioco and now to the Immaculate Conception. In 1616, the sacristy was built. Confirmation of the fact that three new chapels had been built can be found in a contract dated September 18, 1650. The first chapel on the right, once dedicated to Saint Joseph, was rebuilt between 1725 and 1728. On August 15 of that year, in fact, the bricklayer Giuseppe Anedda issued the receipt for receiving the last payment. The main prospectus is placed chronologically in the years 1804-05.
In 1684, construction began on the bell tower, whose work was interrupted for a few years, and then resumed in 1741, the date on which a new contract dates back. After another interruption and subsequent resumption, with a contract dated December 22, 1753, the polygonal part was finally completed in 1760; the following year, work was suspended again due to lack of funds. The tower was completed in the 20th century.

Bibliography
V. Angius, entry “Forru”, in G. Casalis, Historical, Statistical-Commercial Geographical Dictionary of the States of His Excellency the King of Sardinia, VI, Turin, G. Maspero, 1840; The Province of Cagliari. The municipalities, edited by N. Sciannameo - F. Sardi, Cinisello Balsamo, Silvana, 1985 (2nd ed.);
S. Tomasi, Diocese of Ales-Terralba, Memories of the Past, II, Villacidro, Cartabianca, 1997; S. Mele, “Country Sheets, Works Sheets”, in Inside the Marmilla. Environment, History, Culture, Lunamatrona, Sa Corona Arrubia, 2000;
A. Pillittu, Diocese of Ales-Terralba, series “Churches and sacred art in Sardinia”, Cagliari, Zonza, 2001.