Sanctuary of San Giuseppe
Built between the late 16th century and the early 17th century, it is characterized by typical late-Gothic style. The building has a simple façade topped by a tympanum and enriched by a rose window with polychromatic glass depicting the image of Saint Joseph and the Jesus Child. Inside, the hall has a pointed vaulted ceiling. The altar houses a wooden structure containing the statue of Saint Joseph. On either side of the hall are two chapels. In the one on the right is the statue of Saint Lucy from the 15th century. In the one on the left is a statue of the Virgin from the 18th century, a Jesus Child from the 19th century, and the ancient bell of the sanctuary made by Canon Antonio Canavera in 1639. In the sacristy of the sanctuary, there is a holy water font, impressed by an effigy of Saint Clare defending herself from the Saracens by raising the monstrance.
Sanctuary of Vergine del Buon Cammino
The sanctuary was built around the 1630s. One of the two bells currently located in the sail bell tower that crowns the façade of the building dates back to 1668. The church was completely rebuilt in 1777, when the spouses Maria Antioca Pisano and Antioco Bernardini financed the works after obtaining the bishop’s approval. In 1803, another building was added to provide hospitality to pilgrims on celebration days. A third architectural element was added in 1817. Since the early decades of the 20th century, the church had been in danger of collapse and the heirs of Maria Antioca Pisano, unable to carry out the necessary repairs, decided in 1957 to transfer ownership to the ecclesiastical authorities. The restoration work, which began in 1961, was completed only with the solemn consecration of the church in 1977. Since 2002, the Church of Beata Vergine del Buon Cammino, which with its characteristic profile of white walls dominates the hill of the same name in the city of Iglesias, has been entrusted to the care of the St. Clare’s Sisters.
Sanctuary of Nostra Signora delle Grazie
Officially designated as a Sanctuary on October 18th, 1985, the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, originally dedicated to Saint Saturn was probably built between the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century. The façade is divided into two levels. The first, dating back to the 13th century, enframes the portal with a lintel sculpted in acanthus spirals, surmounted by a round arch that bears an inscription with the coat of arms of Canon Marco Canavera from Iglesias. The second level features a Gothic-style single window, while the upper part, where two windows open, was built in the 17th century and ends with a broken pediment and a sail-shaped bell tower, one of which shows an effigy of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and the date 1649. The interior has a single aisle layout with a wooden roof supported by five pointed arches. In the second bay, on the left side, there is a grille with a small door used for the Holy Communion of the Clarisse nuns from the adjoining monastery, which was later suppressed. On the right wall of the fifth bay, at a low level, there is an embedded funeral inscription in memory of the Capuchin priest Benedetto from Iglesias, who died in 1713. In the last bay, two small side chapels open up, one dedicated to Saint Francis on the left and one to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the right. On the back wall, there is the seventeenth-century wooden statue of Our Lady of Grace, venerated by the community of Iglesias for having freed the city from the plague of locusts in 1735. The Celebration of Our Lady of Grace is celebrated on the second Sunday of July every year. During the Eucharistic celebration, the Mayor of Iglesias, on behalf of the Municipality and the people of Iglesias, renews the ancient vow to the Madonna by rereading the Supplication and offering a candle as a thanksgiving for the liberation from the voracious locusts, which had devastated the fields for twenty years, plaguing a population already afflicted by drought and pestilence.
Church of Santo Salvatore
The church of Santo Salvatore, deconsecrated in the 1860s, is one of the few examples of Byzantine sacred architecture preserved in Sardinia. Its construction can be traced back to the period between the 9th and 11th centuries, as revealed by its masonry structures, the only ones that we can consult in the absence of documents related to that era to deepen our knowledge of the ancient building. The church has a cross-shaped plan, covered internally by a barrel vault and originally ended to the east with three apses of which only recently traces have been found at the foundation level.
Church of Sant’Antonio Abate
The construction dates back to the 10th-11th century. On the right side of the facade, there was a window with a brick frame which is now covered. The original structure of the building, created with Byzantine artistic and religious style, included three aisle (divided by arches) and three semicircular apses. Currently, only the central aisle and the end of the right aisle are visible. The central aisle is divided into four bays by transverse round arches made of bricks. The original barrel vault ceiling has been replaced with a wooden beam covering. Above the door leading to the sacristy, an inscription recalls the restoration works carried out in the building between 1923 and 1929 by the initiative of Bishop Saturnino Peri and Canon Oliviero Angioni.
Church San Domenico
The construction of this building was sponsored in the early 17th century by the Bishop of Alghero, Nicolò Canavera, a native of Iglesias. Thanks to a bequest made in 1610 by the canon Melchiorre Fença Canavera, a Dominican friary was annexed to the church. The building, in its evident late-Gothic style, represents a testimony of the artistic revival phase that developed in Sardinia between the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century. On the walls of the aisle, several tomb slabs were placed that originally were inserted in the pavement. The first on the right is of the canon Francesco Fontana, who died in 1801, the second bears the 18th-century epitaph of the canon Benedetto Apostoli, whose portrait is sculpted in high relief on the marble. The third tomb slab is of Bishop Nicolò Canavera (died on July 13th, 1613). The last epigraph is on the left wall and is of Giovanni Battista Cogoti, dating back to 1772. It should be noted that this church lacks a presbytery, which was completely demolished to allow for the opening of the adjacent via Eleonora to traffic. The access arch to the presbytery was thus incorporated into the new back wall, where the current altar was placed between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and in whose central niche stands the simulacrum of Saint Dominic.
Church of San Michele
The building, whose façade was never completed, was constructed between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the next, and displays the typical features of Catalan late-Gothic architecture. The oratory dedicated to the Archangel Michael was built by the initiative of the Confraternita del Sacro Monte della SS. Vergine della Pietà. During Holy Week, the oratory of San Michele becomes the focus of the city’s religious life. From here, the evocative processions start through which the faithful are called to relive the mysteries of the passion and death of Jesus. With rituals that have remained unchanged over the centuries, the confreres, in their characteristic Spanish-derived costumes, accompany the faithful in this suggestive reenactment, traversing the streets of the historic center of Iglesias, inviting the faithful to recollection, meditation, and prayer. Children, youth, and adults participate in the processions wearing a white linen tunic that covers up to the calves, cinched at the waist with a cord, while the face is covered by a hood called “Visiera”. Because of this clothing, they are called Baballotti; a term that in Campidanese Sardinian can be translated as “little animal or small insect”. Those who belong to the Archconfraternity are called Germani; a term that derives from the Spanish hermano (= brother). Their costume is composed of a shirt adorned with black velvet bows and ruffles on the shoulders, collar, along the front opening, and at the end of the sleeves. A wide skirt that covers the ankles completes the outfit, enriched by a white silk sash with a rosette that tightens the hips.
Church of Beata Vergine di Valverde
The church, built around the end of the 13th century, represents an architectural model with Roman origins and Gothic lines. The façade, entirely made of volcanic ashlars, is divided into two orders by a molded horizontal cornice. In the first order, there is the portal surmounted by a round arch with hood moulding, while in the second order, there is a Gothic window, with hood moulding too. The interior underwent profound transformations at the end of the 16th century: the original roof with trusses was replaced with pointed arches supporting wooden sloping roofs; the new squared presbytery was covered with a ribbed vault; two chapels were opened on the right side, while the one on the left is now walled up. In the central gem, the largest one, the Madonna and Child are depicted. In the four minor gems, respectively, the name of the author of the work: Melchiorre Serra; the date of execution of the work 1592; the name of the supervisor of the factory, the “obrer” Antioco Spada; the monogram of Christ JHS.
Church of San Francesco
The current building dates back to the 16th century and is the result of a complete renovation of the previous 14th-century structure. It represents one of the most significant Gothic-Catalan architectures in Sardinia. The simple façade features an archaic portal. Aligned with it is a rose window enclosed by modulated frames and, higher up, a capital supporting a graceful marble sculpture of the pregnant Virgin. The interior is divided into bays by transverse arches resting on semi-pillars of shaped trachyte blocks. The capitals of the second and third pillars are carved with the coat of arms of the Iglesian municipality during the Aragonese and Spanish periods. On the capital of the fourth pillar, the Franciscan order’s emblem of two crossed arms appears on both the right and left sides. The next shield, on the fifth capital, bears the inscription “O.P.A.” and the date 1558. The square-plan sanctuary is raised and covered by a stellar vault. Seven chapels open on each side, and from the first chapel on the right, one can reach a masonry choir loft. Worth noting among the liturgical furnishings is the Retable of the Virgin attributed to the Stampacino painter Antioco Mainas, created around the mid-16th century.
Church of Vergine Purissima
The construction of the church dedicated to the Vergine Purissima (Virgin Most Pure) and the adjacent college was commissioned by the Jesuits, present in Iglesias since 1578. The construction of the church, started at the turn of the 17th century, had a rather long development and was consecrated in 1728 during the pastoral visit of Archbishop Falletti. To the left of the church stands the bell tower, built between 1909 and 1913. The building has a plan with a central aisle flanked by raised side chapels. The main space ends in a large quadrangular presbytery, also located on a higher level than the aisle. The paintings in the second and third chapel on the left, featuring the Nativity, the Annunciation, the Prayer in the Orchard, the Supper in Emmaus, and the Apparition to Santa Margherita, were created between 1906 and 1908 by the painter Luigi Gambini and his collaborators. Currently, the Church of the Vergine Purissima houses the 8 “Candelieri,” representing the guilds and historical neighborhoods that parade during the great Celebration of Sancta Maria di Mezo Gosto.
