Dedicated to the patron saint of Cagliari, the Basilica is part of the area of the oldest Christian necropolis in Cagliari, one of the most important early Christian complexes in Sardinia. The building, dating back to the 5th-6th centuries AD, is believed to have been erected over the tomb of San Saturnino, martyred in 304. The title is recorded for the first time in a passage by the deacon Ferrandus, biographer of Fulgentius, the bishop of Ruspe who in the first quarter of the 6th century was exiled by King Thrasamund from North Africa to Cagliari, where he stayed twice and founded a monastery “iuxta basilicam sancti martyris Saturnini”. Of the original building, a Greek cross with a hemispherical dome at the intersection of the arms, only the central body and part of the apse remain. In 1089, the judge of Cagliari Costantino Salusio II de Lacon-Gunale donated the Basilica to the Vittorini of Marseille. The monks renovated it in typically pre-Romanesque forms and established the seat of the Sardinian priory of the Order there. During this phase, attributed to Provençal craftsmen, the domed central body was maintained, and the four arms were rebuilt, of which only the eastern one remains intact, with three naves and an apse, featuring limestone cladding from Bonaria, hints of bicolor effect due to the insertion of volcanic blocks and use of marble spolia. The central nave has a barrel vault resting on a cornice and articulated by lunettes, while the side naves have ribbed vaults with small corner ribs. After suffering damage during the 14th century, the basilica became property of the Archdiocese of Cagliari in the mid-15th century. Famous are the archaeological excavations carried out from 1614 in search of the “holy bodies,” that is the relics of the martyrs, which brought to light numerous burials. At the end of the same century the basilica was partly dismantled to obtain material for the Baroque restoration of the Cathedral of Cagliari. During the 20th century, it underwent various restoration works, while the necropolis area is still the subject of archaeological excavations.
Information on Basilica of San Saturnino
Piazza San Cosimo,
09100 Cagliari (Cagliari)
0703428203
pm-sar@beniculturali.it
https://www.sbappsaecaor.beniculturali.it
Source: MIBACT
