The Basilica di San Gavino (Basilica of Saint Gabinus) is a proto- Romanesque church in

Porto Torres Porto Torres ( sdc, Posthudorra, sc, Portu Turre) is a comune and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as ''Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis'', it was the first Roman colony of the ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. A former cathedral, it is now a place for the veneration of local martyrs and a parish church.

History

Turris Libisonis (Latin: ''Turris Libyssonis'', present day:

) was a bishopric seat from 489 until 1441, when the see was moved to nearby Sassari. The basilica is located in the Monte Angellu section of Porto Torres; an area where archaeological excavations have found a Paleo-Christian necropolis and two ancient basilicas, dating to the 5th – 7th centuries AD; one of which was built over the tomb of

Saint Gabinus Saint Gabinus (commonly anglicized as Saint Gavin or Saint Gabin) is the title given to two personages. *Saint Gabinus, who died as a martyr at Porto Torres, Sardinia, Italy (the ancient Turris) sometime in the second century under Emperor Hadrian. ...

whose remains are interred in the present church. Stemma torres 198

The earliest known document mentioning the church dates to 1065. According to it, the church was founded in the early 11th century by Gonario I, ''giudice'' (duke) of Torres and

Arborea Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea). Histo ...

, who commissioned the work to Pisan masters. The construction continued under his son Barisone I, and was inaugurated by the ''giudice'' Marianus I of Arborea and archbishop Constantine of Castra in 1080. An epigraph in the Romanesque portal testifies restoration work in the 15th century, which introduced Catalan- Gothic elements. In the 18th century the crypt was renovated to house the remains of Torres' martyrs found in 1614.

Description

Exterior

The church is located between two courtyards, known as ''atrio Comita'' and ''atrio Metropoli''. In the southern side is the main entrance, a 15th-century portal in Catalan Gothic style. It is surmounted by a rounded arch supported by two columns, whose capitals have angels with coats of arms. The church has two apses, one on each shorter side of the rectangular plan. The exterior is decorated by blind columns and

Lombard band A Lombard band is a decorative blind arcade, usually located on the exterior of building. It was frequently used during the Romanesque and Gothic periods of Western architecture. It resembles a frieze of arches. Lombard bands are believed to h ...

s. The ceiling is covered with lead plates.

Interior

The interior has a nave and two aisles separated by two series of rounded arches which are supported by twenty-two columns, taken from ancient edifices, in gray marble and pink granite, and three pairs of cruciform pilasters. Most of the capitals are of Roman origin. The nave is some three time wider than the aisles, and is covered by wooden

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

es; the aisles have instead

cross vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: L ...

The high altar, which until the 19th century was in the middle of the nave, is now in the south-western apse; the opposing apse has a wooden

catafalque A catafalque is a raised bier, box, or similar platform, often movable, that is used to support the casket, coffin, or body of a dead person during a Christian funeral or memorial service. Following a Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, a catafalque ...

of the 17th century, housing polychrome statues of the martyrs Gabinus, Protus and Ianuarius. The aisles led to the anti-crypt, in Renaissance style with statues of martyrs, and the crypt, which houses ancient Roman sarcophagi; the latter in turn house remains attributed to the Turres' martyrs.

Sources

External links

Page at sardegnacultura.it
{{coord, 40, 49, 56, N, 8, 24, 03, E, region:IT-88_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Romanesque architecture in Sardinia Former cathedrals in Italy Basilica churches in Sardinia Churches in the province of Sassari