The restoration

In 1977, the Minister of the Cultural Heritage, pursuant to Law 1089 of 1939, declared the monumental complex, now bordering on the canal port, to be of cultural, artistic and historical interest. The initial project of the canal was modified for the very purpose of safeguarding the church dedicated to Saint Efisio which, together with the court, the manor and other environments, form a single building complex; now this complex has finally been entirely recovered under the supervision of the Superintendency of Cagliari, and today it is possible to appreciate and enjoy the original structure to the fullest.

Once the threat of demolition had been removed and the renovation of the buildings involved in the ancient vow of one of their ancestors, fully shared and in the hearts of the entire family, had been completed, the Ballero family, in the person of attorney Benedetto Ballero, decided to breathe new life into these buildings with the commitment to continue to observe the oath.

The project, drawn up by Professor Antonio Tramontin, called for the restoration of the entire complex which was becoming a ruin, not lastly due to a landslip caused by excavations for the canal port. The idea was to preserve the vestiges of what had taken place over the centuries with the most varied uses, the storerooms of the manor, the shelters for the pilgrims who came for the feast, the dwellings inhabited by the fishermen which had been the refuge of evacuees during the last war.

Finally, in 2004, at the end of delays and bureaucratic obstacles, and following completion of the long and costly restoration works carried out by the Ballero family, the owners of the complex starting from the end of the 18th century, it became possible to restore the site to its ancient splendour. 

Restoration was in fact carried out and recently completed with the important economic commitment of Benedetto Ballero, the present owner of the complex, with the support of a regional grant (on the basis of the law concerning restricted churches) as concerns works on the church, coach room and sacristy only, under the direction of the Municipality of Cagliari, and with the precious cooperation and the excellent support of his wife Bonita and children Roberta, Stefano, Simone and Francesco. The completed restoration has finally brought back to life a complex, today more than ever rich in historical and archaeological evidence of the life and culture of Cagliari and not only Cagliari, but a place so meaningful in the history and culture of Sardinia, which for hundreds of years has assumed a fundamental role in the life of the people of Cagliari and all Sardinians.

And now the church of Giorgino is part of the application advanced by the municipality of Cagliari to have the UNESCO declare the entire feast of Saint Efisio part of the World Heritage.