Santa Barbara de Montes
The Romanesque church of Santa Barbara de Montes is located on the east side of the mountains near Capoterra in the province of Cagliari in Sardinia . The Romanesque church attests to the presence of the Basilian monks who built a small chapel 50 m from the church where, according to legend, the martyr Barbara of Cagliari died. It is believed that Barbara was beheaded during the persecution of Christians . According to legend, at the point where her head fell on the earth, a spring that still exists today and is called Sa Scabizzada originated.
The special feature of the church are the ceramic bowls on the facade, which point to Hispano-Moorish influences, although the island has belonged to the Pisans since 1016 . According to the text of the memorial plaque, it was built in 1281 by Gallo, Archbishop of Cagliari from 1276 to 1281, who allegedly lived as a monk in this village. The church consists of a rectangular nave. On the side where the entrance to the temple opens and in the side wall, Romanesque motifs from the 13th century can still be seen. A front portico, supposedly from the 17th century, supports an espadaña (bell gable). The renovation work of 1739 focused on building the bowl dome, which according to some historians dates from the ship's era. Other renovations have partially destroyed the appearance of the small church. Nevertheless, the characteristic motifs of the 13th century remain recognizable.
According to a document allegedly published in 1355 in the chancellery of King Alfonso IV (Il Benigno - the Good-natured), which was discovered in the archives of the Crown of Aragon, the Basilian monks asked the king to call the Church of Santa Barbara "sita in Cabuterra insula Sardinie" (located in Cabuterra on the island of Sardinia). The information cannot be correct, however, since Alfonso IV died in 1336 and was ruled by King Peter IV (El Ceremonioso - the ceremonial). The church probably belonged to the Basilians in the High Middle Ages. In the 17th century it was given to the Archbishop of Cagliari in exchange for the Church of S. Maria di Uta. When the Franciscans had to leave Santa Barbara in 1867, the church became a state property and the supervision of the traditional festival passed to the parish of Sant'Efisio .
The feast of Santa Barbara is celebrated in late June. The saint is not Barbara of Nicomedia . According to tradition, she is a martyr from Cagliari who was 30 years old. Her body was allegedly found in the grave of S. Restituta in 1620. The most complete vita of Santa Barbaras is in the "Trimpho de los Santos del Renyo de Cerdeña", which tells of the origin of the saints born in Cagliari. She was the companion of S. Restituta and was imprisoned with her. Sentenced to be beheaded, she was allegedly taken to a mountain near the city to avoid reactions from city notables.
Since then the area took on the Sardinian name Sa Scabizzada (the beheaded). Bonfant also narrates that there was an old spring in this place, from which water gushed again when the saint's head fell to the ground there. The body is said to have been brought to Cagliari by the Christians to be buried in the grotto of S. Restituta.
On the hill which, according to tradition, is the place of beheading, the “Sa Scabizzada” spring, which is linked to a popular incantation tradition, is a few meters from the small church.
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Coordinates: 39 ° 8 ′ 48.9 ″ N , 8 ° 56 ′ 58.7 ″ E