The Church of St. George

The Church of St. George is the oldest building in Sarroch, built in the 16th Century in honor of St. George the Bishop of Suelli, whose intercession would have allowed the victory against the hordes of Muslim corsairs that infested the coast of Sarroch, looting the villages and abducting civilians to sell them as slaves in North African markets.

"The church of San Giorgio is located in the countryside just outside the village of Sarroch, on the right of the SS 195 in the direction of Villa San Pietro. It was the parish of Barraccas de susu [...] On the morning of May 2nd, on the occasion of the feast of Sant'Efisio, the Saint's simulacrum leaves Sarroch to head to Nora, crossing the area of the ancient settlement of Barraccas de susu, one of the two villages originating in Sarroch, around the church of San Giorgio and then abandoned. In the other, located lower and said Barraccas de basciu, there was the church dedicated to Santa Vittoria, the generator of the present dwelling "(Source:" Ancient and Modern Churches along the Via Sant'Efisio ", Municipality of Sarroch, edited by Roberto Coroneo). From 1656 until about 1740 (construction period of the Church of Santa Vittoria), this was the only church in Sarroch to welcome St. Efisio.

HISTORY. "St. George's site was quoted by Angius in 1849. He argued that in order to escape the dangers of Arab incursions, the people from the coastal village had to repair in this upstream area, called "barraccas de susu" by residents distinguish it from the coastal pole called "barraccas de baxiu", which was headed by the parish church of Santa Vittoria, which Angius himself said abandoned for a long time, citing an observation of the Fara who wrote in 1580. " (Source: "The Sarroch Territory of Roman and Medieval Era" by Anna Pistuddi, from "Sarroch, History, Archeology and Art" by Roberto Coroneo). "The hypothesis elaborated by the Fara tells that around 1580 Sarroch, for a long time depopulated, lived as other coastal settlements under the constant threat of barbarian incursions, which consistently involved plundering and mass abduction. Newcomers arrived on site, having obtained a stunning victory over the Saracens by intercession of St. George of Suelli, they built a small church and, around it, they began to build their modest houses. The village took the name of the saint but was best known as Barraccas de susu as opposed to the other born in a short time, called Santa Vittoria and known as Barraccas de baxiu" (Source: "The country and the territory from 300 to 800" Luana Giannotti, from "Sarroch, History, Archeology and Art" curated by Roberto Coroneo). "Already in the middle of the nineteenth century Abbot Vittorio Angius reported on the state of degradation of the church called San Giorgio, described as a stingray full of mice, even though it was still officiated.

PLANT. The church of Giorgio presents a simple longitudinal piano plant. Two irregularly planted environments are attached to the left flank.

STRUCTURES. The church has very simple structures, with no significant elements except for the Manneristic Niches, open in the walls. The façade, smooth, ends in a two-door sailboat and has an acute six-sided access door that stands out in the plaster that covers the building as a whole. On the board with the entrance, but not with the bell tower, a circular eyepiece opens. Around the church can still be found material of uncertain origin. "(Source:" Ancient and Modern Churches along the Via Sant'Efisio ", Municipality of Sarroch, edited by Roberto Coroneo)

THE FESTIVAL. From April 2016, the year of relocation to worship, the community re-occupied the celebration, celebrating it with religious and civil rites.