The Church of San Nicola di Quirra can be found in Villaputzu and stands near the ruins of the giudicale castle of Quirra.
Together with the church of San Gavino di Lorzia in Bono, it is something unique on the island. Indeed, it was built entirely of terracotta bricks.
Most likely, the building material was extracted and worked on site, as remains of a quarry and the baking kiln were found.
The structure has a single nave, with wooden ceiling inside and dates to the fourth quarter of the XII century.
Its dimensions, layout and facades were designed following very precise geometrical diagrams and measurement details, like the canna toscana (ancient measurement unit) and squaring.
In order to overcome the height difference due to the steep terrain sloping eastwards, the church was configured on an escarpment only on the apse side.
Externally, the building has arches made up of semi-circular ferule parts, stemming from small brackets with carved geometrical decoration.
A large bell gable with ogival light was erected on the facade.
The church stands on the trunk road 125 a few kilometres from the centre of Villaputzu.
