Assemini - San Giovanni

San Giovanni, in the center of Assemini, is either described as "pre-Romanesque" or as "Byzantine". I have the impression, that the small church is probably both.

In 534 the Byzantines had replaced the Vandals. Ostrogoths, Langobards and later Arab troops invaded the island over the next centuries, but the Byzantines could hold on to power upto 832. Even after that date the life on the island remained for long influenced by eastern and Byzantine culture.

San Giovanni, dated to the 9th/10th century, is a cruciform church, though the Greek-cross floor-plan is inscribed in a square. In the very beginning the church may have been a Greek-cross that later was altered into a square, similar to "San Giovanni di Sinis". The crossing is surmounted by a dome.