The church of S. Nicola di Silanis is immersed in a wide green valley surrounded by the characteristic limestone hills of Sedini.
The first document which mentions it dates to the start of the XII century, when the couple Furatu de Gitil and Susanna de Lacon-Zorifu, whose names are carved on the church’s facade, donated it to the Abbey of Montecassino. A convent was soon built on the site and its remains can still be seen today. The fertile farming land around it was soon put to good use and the families of farmers lived in the areas around the church. Periodically, during religious celebrations, the ”Crowns of justice’’ were held, a kind of judicial assembly where ecclesiastical jurisdiction arguments were resolved and matters between lay people and the monks were debated.
Only the right perimeter wall with nave and apse of the church, which was restored in 2019, have survived. It has an east-facing facade, unlike in other Sardinian churches which generally face westwards. Ribbed vaults would have entirely covered the three naves and they would have been compartmentalised by transversal arches placed in correspondence with the supporting axis.
The church is about a 20-minute walk along a path.
