Of the ancient church, the entire right arm of the transept has been preserved, along with the two chapels, part of the raised choir, and finally a vaulted room that can be presumed to have served as a sacristy.
The restoration works, carried out repeatedly since the 1600s to preserve this ancient part of the temple and enable the veneration of the Virgin, ultimately gave rise to a new church, oriented from north to south, connected to the two square-plan chapels.
**Description:** G. Spano (see bibliography, p. 46) mentions an ancient and crude wooden effigy of the Virgin. The Chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Corte in the parish church of Sindia displays a wooden statue of the Virgin, which originally held the Child on her left arm (approx. 1.20 m tall: see photo in G. Masia, plate III). The hollow effigy contained bone relics, lost during one of its many relocations—only recently was it returned to its original community by the Superintendency, which restored it (1982). A popular tradition claims that a statue was sent directly to Cabuabbas by St. Bernard (see G. Masia’s private archive: letter sent to Mons. Fazioli dated 15-2-1948). If this refers to the restored wooden statue, it could date back to the 12th century. Meanwhile, the statue of the crowned Virgin displayed on the high altar of the parish church in 1948 is a more recent work (1947) by the artist Suffesser of Val Gardena.
**Image:** Statue
**Notes on the collection:** The ex-votos, mostly chains and various goldsmithing items, adorn the Virgin’s effigy during feast days. Particularly noteworthy are the two crowns placed on the heads of the Madonna and Child on these occasions. The first, made of gilded silver with filigree work, were donated by a family for the solemn coronation in 1948. On the 20th anniversary, these were replaced by two gold crowns, a gift from the parish community. These were later embellished with diamonds for the solemn blessing by Pope John Paul II (see photo in G. Masia, plate II).
**Type of ex-votos:** Goldsmithing objects, Others
**Current preservation:** The significant value of these objects has necessitated specific security measures.
Many miracles were reported in the petition submitted in 1984 by the parish priest of Sindia, Mons. Giuseppe Masia, to the Vatican Chapter to obtain the coronation of the effigy of Our Lady of Corte. These miracles or graces, which occurred in the last century, were included in the petition at the suggestion of Bishop Mons. Frazioli, as evidenced by a letter sent to Mons. Masia dated April 2, 1948 (see G. Masia’s private archive). Mentioning these miracles was intended to positively influence the Chapter’s judgment on the importance of the cult of Our Lady of Corte.
The foundation of the Abbey is attributed to Gonario II of Torres, who, upon returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, met St. Bernard in Clairvaux. From him, he secured the dispatch of a group of Cistercian monks to his Judicate, to whom he made several donations, the first being the Curtis of Cabuabbas. The founding act of the Abbey dates to March 5, 1149. A bull by Callixtus III, dated July 8, 1458, reveals that the Abbey had already been in complete abandonment for over sixty years: *…nullus monacus resedit* (Cossu Pinna, see bibliography, p. 40).
The Abbey of Cabuabbas has inspired a wealth of literary works in prose and verse. The splendid novella *Il tesoro di Pedrasenta* by Pietro Casu, also revisited by G. Masia (op. cit.), contains a kernel of truth in the events that led to the sanctuary’s destruction. While human greed was not the primary reason for the monks’ return to the mainland, the widespread belief that monasteries concealed rich treasures contributed significantly to the complex’s devastation. To this day, an ancient belief persists about the existence of an underground church with a golden statue, protected by strange miracles that saved it from repeated attempts to remove it from time’s custody. Tales or *paristorias* about the Abbey of Cabuabbas are also collected in Antonio Ledda’s article cited in the bibliography.
The Abbey of Cabuabbas did not have a long life: it rose and fell within three centuries. Its peak period of splendor was between 1150 and 1297 (by 1297, the Abbey was already in deep crisis, unable to appoint a Prior: see G. Masia, pp. 38-39). What remains visible to pilgrims today is only a small part of the ancient church, whose progressive destruction was influenced by several factors: the heavy barrel vaults constructed from trachyte and basalt blocks, the removal of smooth trachyte blocks—reportedly used to build houses and other churches in the nearby village of Sindia, particularly the Church of San Demetrio, at the behest of Doctor Inquisitor General of Sardinia Gavino Pintor Serra (1688).
After the monks left, the title of Abbot of Santa Maria di Corte passed to the Bishop of Bosa, who had held the office since ancient times (P. Martini, see bibliography, p. 430).
The first Abbot of Cabuabbas was Bernard of Clairvaux, who personally oversaw the daughter abbey in response to the heartfelt plea of Gonario II of Torres. When the monks abandoned Sardinia, the abbey came under the jurisdiction of the monks of Scrivia Torinese.
After the monks left, the spiritual care of the church was entrusted to various parish priests of Sindia. However, only after the decree of September 8, 1982—which granted the parish of Sindia the title of Abbatial Parish—was the priest recognized as *Parrochus Abbas*, as evidenced by a letter from Abbot General Sighard Kleiner in response to a specific inquiry (G. Masia’s private archive, see bibliography). On May 1, 1990, the parish priest was bestowed the title of Prior of the Abbatial Parish of Our Lady of Corte.
According to the 12th-century Sardinian chronicle *Liber judicum turritanorum*, St. Bernard sent 150 monks and 50 lay brothers to Cabuabbas. Scholars agree that assigning 200 Cistercians to the new monastery is an exaggeration. G. Zanetti (see bibliography) mentions only 12 in total, monks and lay brothers, as this is a sacred and symbolic number in Benedictine tradition.
The Union of Oblates of Sindia has 28 members and was recently re-established (1922), though it existed as early as the 1950s. In addition to observing their specific Rule of Life, the Oblates take care of the material upkeep of the Church of Corte and the Chapel of Our Lady of Corte in the parish church. On feast days, they prepare and distribute the monastery’s bread.
Gonario of Torres, captivated by the spiritual depth and charismatic personality of Bernard of Clairvaux, introduced the Cistercian Order to Sardinia, funding the foundation of the Abbey of Cabuabbas with land grants. He himself joined the Cistercian Order of Clairvaux upon his death.
08018 Sindia NU, Italy
