San Salvatore of Sinis, a hamlet of Cabras (OR), along a 9km stretch of road leading to the Is Arutas beach and the ancient city of Tharros, is a small village built in an area that has been sacred since the Nuragic age. It was transformed for over two decades (1967-1090) into a set for filming ‘Spaghetti Westerns’, due to the resemblance to the landscapes of the American frontier.
The medieval village, whose current appearance dates back to the Spanish domain, owes its name to the Church of San Salvatore, built in the 2nd half of the 17th century, built on a prehistoric sanctuary carved into the rock.
The church is surrounded by sas cumbessias, small and unadorned houses built at the end of the 17th century and used as accommodation for pilgrims during the novena prayers in honour of San Salvatore, between August and September. The highlight of the celebrations, on the first Saturday of September, is the Corsa degli Scalzi, a procession that involves over 800 curridoris in white tunics, running barefoot along a long dirt road following the simulacrum of the saint from the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cabras to the township.
The Romanisation of the ghost-village is completed by Domu ‘e Cubas, the ruins of baths from the imperial age with a polychrome mosaic floor, and traces of a granary (2nd century BC).
Fondazione Sardegna Film Commission
Via Malta 63 — 09124 Cagliari
Phone: +39 070 2041961
Email: filmcommission@regione.sardegna.it
