Basilica of San Gavino, Romanesque church in Porto Torres, Italy
The Basilica of San Gavino is a Romanesque church in Porto Torres, in northern Sardinia, built on a long rectangular plan with an apse at each end. The outer walls are lined with blind columns and horizontal decorative bands that run along the full length of the building.
Work on the church started in 1065, commissioned by Gonario I, the judge of Torres, and was finished by Pisan builders before the end of the century. The involvement of craftsmen from Pisa left a clear mark on the way the outer walls were shaped and decorated.
Below the main floor, a stone chamber holds ancient Roman sarcophagi containing the remains of saints Gavino, Proto, and Januarius. Locals and visitors still come down to this lower space to pray, making it one of the most visited sites in northern Sardinia.
The church sits in the center of Porto Torres and is easy to reach on foot from most parts of the town. Entry is through side doors, and visiting in the morning helps since daylight reaches the interior more directly at that time.
Unlike most Romanesque churches, this building has no traditional front facade and its main entrances open from the long sides rather than from either end. This happens because both ends of the church look almost the same, with no obvious front or back.
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