Tancas Abertas

Its austere and solemn appearance has remained unchanged for almost a thousand years. Made from dark trachyte ashlar by Pisan craftsmen, it was built in the 11th century as a palatine chapel at the behest of Giorgia, sister of the "judge" Gonnario Comita of Torres.

The characteristic features of Lombard-Romanesque style are clearly recognizable on the external walls, from the pleasing full-round arches to the front bifocal, the lateral single-bay windows, the pilasters and the hanging arch decorations. The bell tower, built in a more recent period, rises on the right side.

Two rows of frescoed columns frame the central nave to direct the gaze towards the magnificent Retablo maggiore, with the precious wooden statue of Madonna del Regno at the center. Along the two lateral naves, one can admire the smaller retable and other meaningful works of pictorial art. Tradition has it that in 1238 the wedding between the last judge Adelasia of Torres and Enzo of Swabia was celebrated here.

Greater altarpiece

It is the largest sixteenth-century altarpiece in Sardinia and one of the most majestic in Europe. The main altarpiece of Ardara towers over the altar of the basilica of Our Lady of the Kingdom, separating it from the apse of the religious building. Approximately ten meters high, it exhibits thirty-one paintings framed by golden wooden friezes. An inscription indicates that it was created in 1515 by the artist Giovanni Muru, commissioned by the archpriest Johan Cataholo. The panels in the center narrate the story of Mary, while the sides feature the iconography of numerous saints and prophets. At the center of the work, the coat of arms of the Catalan-Aragonese domination are located on the sides of the elegant niche that houses the wooden statue of the Madonna with the Child.