Just outside the town of Simala, atop the hill of Santu Giuanni where there was once a church dedicated to St. John the Baptist and a small graveyard that held the remains of the deceased until February 1839, stands the small country church of Santa Vitalia.
The single-nave sacred building, consecrated in 1910, was erected thanks to the donation of a fund owned by Simala Judge Eugenio Cancedda and to the many Simalans who, with small offerings of money and cereal products, contributed to its construction and maintenance, as indicated by a file dating back to 1896 left by priest Don Eugenio Fonnesu.
Santa Vida, in ancient times, was celebrated in Simala twice a year: a first one on May 14 to commemorate May 14, 1891. date of the simulacrum’s arrival, and a second on the first Monday in October, as is still the case today.
The small shrine, for those traveling along SP46 coming from Ales, is located on the northern outskirts of the town, on Cagliari Street, just after the signpost indicating Simala.
