Medieval village of Augustana and Saint Sebastian’s church
Augustana is quoted in Middle Ages time, in seven files of Salvennor Saint Michael’s Condaghe and in a manuscript found in the seventeenth century.
Some of these files are quite important, because reading them we can get to know how was Ploaghe territory in that time.
To locate the area where this village was found I found useful to translate file 7 from Salvennor Saint Michael’s condaghe.
I, abbot T. from Salvennor… my lord, Judge Mariano de Lacon, let me the land called “de Piretu”, which goes from Luzia street, where is the cross, along the road to Bulbares’ land, gets out of this road near AGUSTANA and its boundary follows the road from AGUSTANA to Ploaghe. The track passes near donna Maria de Serra’s lands and goes on behind Domo Mayore. From there, it goes on until the Domo Mayore boundary, where you can find the fountain. From there, to Iscala[i] ’e Silique, where we have to pass to go back from Domo Mayore, and then on to the area called Su Cotinarju, which is near the track leading from AGUSTANA to Ploaghe and Anglona.
Analyzing this extract one can get to these conclusions:
· el camino de Luzia don esta hecha la Cruz: Luzia might be the name of a country incontrada[ii], where two tracks certainly joined forming a cross-road;
· passa per todo el camino a la sierra de los Bulbares… a su populare de AGUSTANA: this track went on to Bulbares’ land, that is the place where cattle was recovered, and finished in the town of Augustana;
· domo majore: it is the site where nowadays Domaiore fountain can be found (in the I.G.M. tables is called Don Maggiore and Donmaiore too).
Thus, Augustana territory went from land of Piretu (now Piredu) to Rivutho (today Riuttu), embracing the whole Gurelle, which nowadays is Buredda.
From this point the street leading from Augustana to Ploaghe went on: passing near donna Maria de Serra’s lands it got to Domus Maiore, where was, and is found the homonymous fountain, and, taking Escala de Silique, in Sardinian Iscala’e Silighe (which is today the Domaiore slope), it went on to Cotinariu, Ploaghe area known as Crastos, that is the road that, passing from Palas de Monte[iii], led to Anglona.
We do not know any tax information about the village. In 1272 it was under possession of Malaspina, a Ligurian family, and in 1364, during the war between Arborea Kingdom and Sardinian Kingdom, it was occupied by Arborea troops, and was under Arborean jurisdiction from 1365 to 1388.
In 1388 its representative was not at the peace meeting between Aragon Crown and Arborea Giudicato. On the other hand, we do know that every year, on 29th September, Agustana major took part to the ceremony to open Salvennor Saint Michael’s Holy Door, and that its parish Church was Saint Mary Ostano.
Actually Angius, in 1847, stated he saw its ruins some eighty feet away from St. Sebastian’s country church.
Besides, in a document dated before this statement, the church was seen intact: in 1688, in the acts of pastoral visit by monsignor Morillo, was declared that, in Ploaghe territory, one could find St. Mary Ottano’s country church.
These are the only news that make us able to locate Augustana churches.
In 1584, Fara did not include AUGUSTANA among the abandoned villages inside Ploaghe diocese.
The village was probably abandoned in the first years of XV century, and its inhabitants must have moved to the near town of Ploaghe.