Architetture religiose e arte sacra - Comune di Iglesias

Inside, transverse arches are supported by semi-pillars of shaped trachyte ashlars; capitals are
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engraved with identical and opposite shields with coats of arms and inscriptions. The 1 couple of
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shields, supported by the semi-pillars of the last bay, shows a quarterly heraldic sign. In the 1 and
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4 quarters is a transverse branch and, in the 2 and 3 ones, a hand holding an eradicated tree.
At the shield sides are the first two figures of year 1584, reflected by an identical shield (opposite
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capital). Capitals of the 3 and 2 pillars are sculpted with the emblem of the municipality of
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Iglesias in Aragonese and Spanish age. The capital of the 4 pillar shows the Franciscan insignia
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(i.e., two crossed arms) on either sides. The shield on the 5 capital bears the O.P.A. ('opera')
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inscription and the date 1558. Above the 1 bay of the counter-façade, the choir is supported by a
typical depressed round arch and closed by a high parapet with 8 compartments, decorated in
fretwork. The presbytery (1523) was initially raised above the ground level of the hall, as a marble
slab confirms. Opening into an ogee arch with bichrome bands, it shows a semi-polygonal vault and
a keystone with a doleful Christ. The single-nave hall has got a two-pitched wooden truss roof and
counts 7 chapel on each side, divided by semi-pillars. Despite of their common late-Gothic Catalan
derivation, these structures differ as to width, manufacturing and age. They were commissioned by
a few households of Iglesias who had these chapels built as their sepulchre.
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