The historic parish between Gothic architecture and sacred art
The Church of the Blessed Virgin Immaculate is the parish church of Armungia, a small village in south-eastern Sardinia. Built between the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth century, it represents an important example of religious architecture in late Gothic style , witness to the artistic and spiritual history of the country. In addition to its liturgical function, the church houses valuable sacred objects and preserves traces of the bond between the local community and the Lussu family .
Architectural origins and structure
The building has a Latin cross plan and a single nave punctuated by pointed arches in exposed stone, typical elements of late Gothic architecture. The original construction dates back to the end of the 16th century, a period in which the presence of stable religious communities in Sardinia was consolidated in rural centers.
Inside you will find:
- a baptismal font and a holy water stoup in sculpted sandstone, dating back to the first half of the seventeenth century
- a bronze bell from 1668
- various liturgical objects in silver dating between the 17th and 19th centuries
The altar and the bond with the Lussu family
The current altar, in marble, was built in 1911, after a fire destroyed the original wooden one. In the center of the altar there is a seventeenth-century statue of the Immaculate Madonna , protected in a niche.
On the back of the altar is a walled commemorative plaque commemorating the year of construction and the promoters of the project: the parish priest Antonio Maria Lussu and the mayor Giovanni Lussu, father of Emilio Lussu.
This detail strengthens the deep bond between the church and the historical memory of Armungia, placing the Lussu family among the protagonists of the public and religious life of the town.
The Holy Cross and the mysterious panels
In front of the church, in the square, there is the Holy Cross , made of wrought iron by local craftsmen. The column that supports it bears a bas-relief engraving with the date August 15, 1905, the day of its consecration.
Inside the church, set in the arches of the nave, there are some walled-in panels whose provenance and meaning are unknown with certainty, adding an element of mystery and iconographic interest.
The other churches of Armungia
In 1833, the abbot Vittorio Angius documented the presence, in addition to the parish church, of two branch churches : the Church of San Giovanni and the Church of San Sebastiano. Both were located near the Nuraghe , "at the edge of the town towards the east", but today they have disappeared.
Instead, on the hill that closes the town to the west, the small country church dedicated to the Madonna di Bonaria is still preserved today, built in the last decades of the nineteenth century, and still linked to local religious celebrations.
Where
Piazza Chiesa, 09040 Armungia SU, Italia
