Chiesa di Santa Maria del Regno

Now a sleepy agricultural town just off the SS729, Ardara was once the capital of the Giudicato di Torres, the medieval state that encompassed much of northwestern Sardinia. Little survives from this golden period except for this brooding church at the edge of town. Consecrated in 1107, it features a sober grey-basalt exterior and a surprisingly rich columned interior focused on an impressive 16th-century retable depicting episodes from the lives of Jesus, Mary and various prophets.