La Nuova Sardegna

At the entrance to the village one immediately reads the plaque of Corso Giovanni Spano, the most important street in Ploaghe, perched on the slopes the extinct volcano Mount San Matteo. Naturally, it was named after the famous canon who was born here in 1803 and who is remembered among the greatest Sardinian scholars of archaeology, history and history of art, glottology and ethnology. In autumn, a multimedia exhibition dedicated to him will be opened in the spaces of the Sant'Antonio convent. Corso Spano ends in the central square which is the heart of the town and is characterised by the presence of three churches which face the same square, a unique case in Sardinia. This is the evidence of a centre that was an Episcopal seat from 1090 to 1503 and the capital of a curatoria in the Judicial period.

The historic centre still retains signs of this glorious past. On the square, in addition to the town hall (under restoration) which was a former granary, stands the imposing Christian complex with the parish church of San Pietro at its centre, the former cathedral dating back to the 15th century (under restoration) with the adjoining oratories of Santa Croce and Rosario. Also adjacent is the parish house, seat of the picture gallery, now relocated to the former convent of Sant'Antonio, which houses the Spano Picture Gallery. This includes 26 paintings by famous artists that worked in Sardinia or from various Italian regions, Flanders and Spain. These works date from between the 14th and 19th centuries and were collected by Canon Spano. The parish archive holds rare writings, books and ancient documents. However, the complex guards another treasure, the monumental cemetery which is among the oldest if not the oldest on the island. What makes it unique are the tombstones and, above all, the epitaphs that are carved there, which three are written in Italian and no less than thirty-nine in Logudorese.

The cemetery (in the process of being restored) is an open square, flanked by six vaulted arches and completed by the Chapel of the Crucifix. While silence and serenity reign in the ancient cemetery, the festive chatter of the crowd seems to echo in the piazza when the two Ploaghe candlesticks 'dance' in time to the music in the parish churchyard. The particularity of the two large votive candles of Ploaghe (of farmers and shepherds) lies in the fact that they make no fewer than four exits a year. These are on Corpus Christi Day and the Feast of the Assumption, but also on the two octaves of feasts, when they accompany the relevant processions.

Strolling through the historical centre one comes across the church of the Madonna di Valverde (soon to be restored), the church of San Timoteo (awaiting restoration) renovated in the 1600s, the church of San Matteo and the monastery complex of Sant'Antonio, an authentic jewel that has recently been renovated and is the venue for exhibitions and cultural events. The area is rich in archaeological sites, including the tomb of the giants of Fiorosu, the nuragic spring of Frades Mereos and several nuraghi including the Attentu nuraghe where Spano found various artefacts. Moreover, the area is rich in rural churches, including the beautiful Romanesque church of San Michele di Salvennor (freshly restored) and the nearby church of Sant'Antonio Abate. 'Few towns can boast a monumental heritage like that of Ploaghe,' explains Mayor Carlo Sotgiu, 'but there is another important heritage that the people of Ploaghe have been guarding for a long time: the intangible heritage of identity, of traditions handed down over the years. Our town has a deep-rooted agro-pastoral vocation that translates into unique knowledge and flavours rich in history and tradition'.