Church of Santa Croce (Usini, Sassari, Sardinia)

Also known as Santa Maria del Cimitero or Madonna de s'Ena frisca, the church of Santa Maria is run by the brotherhood of Santa Croce, from which the alternative name derives.
The church, located at the beginning of the village of Usini, was built to replace a small Cistercian chapel from 1154, between the 12th and 15th centuries.
The church was built near a spring ("Ena frisca") as a rest stop halfway between the religious centers of Nostra Signora di Paulis near Ittiri and the monastery of San Pietro in Silki in Sassari.
Over time it underwent various additions and stylistic changes ranging from Romanesque to Gothic-Catalan.
The building, in limestone and with a single nave plan and an apse to the east, has a simple gabled façade enriched by a cornice that delimits the pediment, blind arches and an architraved portal surmounted by a lunette; later, the transept, ogival elements and the bell tower were added.
The interior has a barrel vault and three side chapels; noteworthy are the altars, in particular the main altar, in Baroque style, in polychrome wood, and a magnificent wooden pulpit from the 18th century.