In Mandas you can still find real marble, it is inside a quarry with limestones dating back to a very ancient era. The story is told by geologist Luigi Sanciu who, on the outskirts of the town of Alta Trexenta, identified the presence of excavations from an old marble quarry. «We are talking about “real” marble, i.e. limestones dating back to around 400 million years ago which underwent incredible increases in temperature and pressure, such as to modify their internal structure and colour», explains Sanciu.
It is a very precious material especially from a historical point of view. In fact, it is the same marble used for the construction of the balustrade and steps leading to the presbytery of the church of San Giacomo Apostolo. In purely commercial jargon the term marble is also extended to rocks which from a geological point of view are not, such as "Orosei marble".
The parish of Mandas, built on a 15th century building, was built in Gothic-Catalan style at the end of the 16th century. According to ancient documents, the works began in 1585, by two master stonemasons, Gontinio Pinna and Miguel Baldabella, and were completed in 1605, when the parish church was consecrated. The gabled roof characterizes the façade, made of stone: there is a cross.
