Luogosanto

The town of Luogosanto (in Gallurese: Locusantu) is the main populated center of the municipality of the same name, with just under 2,000 inhabitants, located in the heart of Gallura, at 314 meters above sea level. It owes its name to the fact that in the 13th century, Franciscan friars built two churches in the places where two hermit saints (San Nicola and San Trano) lived, worked, and were buried, as well as a convent and a third church dedicated to the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The latter received from Pope Honorius III the privilege of the holy door and the title of minor basilica, strengthening Luogosanto’s role as a religious reference for the faithful of Gallura and beyond. Around the sanctuary – which is located right in the exact center of the town and from which the three road axes depart – starting from the 19th century, the present-day town developed, becoming an autonomous municipality in 1947, annexing to its territory about 200 stazzi (typical self-sufficient dwellings and farms) and 5 hamlets (Bulbuseddu, Chessa, Crisciuleddu, Lu Mocu and Vaddidúlimu).
In the territory of Luogosanto, there are as many as 20 rural churches, to which must be added the buildings in a state of ruin, those that have now disappeared, and historical attestations that are difficult to prove, which bring the number of original religious buildings to between 33 and 38.
Among the sites of greatest archaeological and historical interest, we can include the Hermitage of San Trano, built by the same Franciscans responsible for the construction of the basilica, the Palazzo di Baldu, an administrative and diplomatic center from the Giudicato era, frequented between the 13th and 15th centuries, and the Castle of San Leonardo with the small church of San Leonardo di Noblac, also from the Giudicato era.
Always centered on an agro-pastoral economy, in recent decades Luogosanto has been enhancing its historic center and its many archaeological and naturalistic sites, attracting travelers who love nature, sports, culture, and genuine flavors.