The earliest records of the traditional feast of St. Anthony of Padua in the small village of Arbura, after whom the country church of the same name is named, can be traced back to 1694, as evidenced in a document in the parish archives of St. Sebastian. A story is told of the discovery a few kilometers from Santadi of a wooden statue about 50 centimeters high. On the journey to Arbus, the town under whose jurisdiction the village was, the oxen pulling the cart stopped at the entrance to the hamlet where the chapel dedicated to the saint stands today. After several attempts he arrived, after nearly 14 hours of walking, at the Church of St. Sebastian in Arbus, only to disappear during the same night. It was found in Santadi, and for this reason this circumstance was interpreted as the Saint’s specific desire to have a small church erected in his honor.
