A rectangular-plan building. The small church, despite undergoing various modifications, has retained its original structure featuring a loggia and two rooms called “de is oberajus.”
**Description:** The statue of Our Lady of Itria, kept in the Parish of St. Sebastian Martyr in Arbus and dating back to the 19th century, depicts the Madonna in an Eastern style: dark complexion and rounded facial features.
**First use recorded:** 1800
**Image:** Statue
**Collection of ex-votos:** No
The earliest evidence of the existence of the small church of Our Lady of Itria in Arbus dates back to the 17th century. It appears in a list of accounts from 1650. However, the church likely predates this period, as it is believed that the Madonna of Itria was invoked by the inhabitants of Arbus during Barbary raids.
An ancient legend is tied to the founding of this rural church. According to the tale, some farmers working in fields near the Arbus coastline spotted a chest floating in the crystalline waters of Piscinas. Believing it contained valuable objects, they decided, with the help of some fishermen, to bring it ashore. To their great surprise, they found inside the chest an image of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. Once the news spread, the people of Arbus rushed to the scene, accompanied by the mayor and the parish priest, who decided to place the chest containing the Madonna’s statue on an unmanned cart. The oxen pulling the cart were left to their own devices and, after a long journey, stopped at a spot not far from the town, where the church dedicated to Our Lady Hodegetria was later built. Those present tried in vain to make the oxen move further to establish the chapel within Arbus itself. This legend was published in Gino Bottiglioni’s book *Legends and Traditions of Sardinia*.
Another legend recounts that during one of the frequent Barbary raids in the Arbus area, some farmers were captured and enslaved while working in fields near the sea. One of them, during his servitude, informed his master that there were three months left until the celebrations of Our Lady of Itria, expressing his desire to participate. He received no response. On the eve of the festival, the same episode repeated itself, but this time the master promised the farmer he would grant him permission to attend the feast only if the rooster cooking in the pot began to crow again. As soon as these words were spoken, the bird leaped out of the pot. Enraged and frightened by this strange phenomenon, the master locked the farmer in a chest and, climbing on top of it, set out to sea at night. The next day, they were brought ashore by local inhabitants in the waters of Piscinas. Upon opening the chest, they found the farmer, who was finally able to return home and join the celebrations. This legend was also published by Gino Bottiglioni in *Legends and Traditions of Sardinia*.
The small church of Our Lady of Itria belongs to the Parish of St. Sebastian Martyr. The earliest administrative records concerning the parish church date back to the late 16th century.
The Church of Our Lady of Itria was placed under the patronage of the namesake confraternity, founded in 1608 at the Augustinian Fathers’ convent in Cagliari. During the first half of the 17th century, this association was also established in Arbus. According to its regulations, the confraternity could consist of no more than seventy-two members. The brothers were responsible for the maintenance and protection of the rural church. To this end, besides donations and collections, the confraternity owned real estate and livestock, which were leased out. The income was used to care for the small church and the chapel erected in the parish church of St. Sebastian, which is still dedicated to Our Lady of Itria. The confraternity has ceased its activities for several decades now.
Via Arbus, 09044 Quartucciu CA, Italy
