Chiesa di San Marco

The church of San Marco Evangelista is probably the oldest building of worship in the Ollastra parish. There is no certain information on the date of construction of the building but, at present, two distinct architectural phases can be identified: the first dates back to the Romanesque period (second half of the 12th century), the second to the modern period (18th-19th century). The layout of the Romanesque phase can be traced back to a simple single-nave hall, probably with a wooden roof; the absence of corner pilasters suggests that the walls were smooth, according to the technique used by the workers from the Camaldolese abbey of S. Maria di Bonarcado (1110- 1146), also present in the churches of S. Gregorio di Solarussa, S. Pietro di Bidonì and S. Nicola di Sorradile. From the Romanesque phase, the basalt and trachyte ashlars that make up the external part of the apse, illuminated by a single-lancet window and facing east, are still visible. From the modern phase belongs the enlargement of the single nave into three aisles, realised by knocking down the walls of the previous phase and adding an aisle on each side.