The Santissima Trinità in Saccargia, Roman-Pisan example

In Sardinia there are hundreds of churches, built mostly in Roman style. Every town has its own: sometimes the devotion regards a saint, whose cult has been brought from the invading populations. In the last years the religious tourism has grown, thanks especially to the restorations made in many places in occasion of the last Giubileo. Cathedral, basilicas, very evocative churches even if often quite small: there is one for every taste.

One of the most famous examples of Roman- Pisan style present in the Island is the church of Santissima Trinità of Saccargia, in the Codrongianos countryside. It was built at the beginning of the XII century, on the initiative of the Giudice di Torres Costantino I de Lacon. After a period of decadency during the progressive disengagement of the Benedictines monks, the restoration works were guided by the Pisan masters called by the same Costantino I.

The Santissima Trinità di Saccargia present a "cross commissa" plan that terminates with three apses. The two colors characteristic (black and white) of the entire structure, shows a more ancient Romanesque style inspiration. The art-history experts, however, condemn the restoration works carried out at the beginning of the 1900's, that modified some architectonic particular: the porch and a part of the facade were demolished, while, in 1953, the arcade and the "cumbessias", the accommodation for the pilgrims who reached Sardinia from abroad. Not much remain of the enormous monastery, situated next to the church and closed by years for restoration works.