Published by 5 Continents Editions in 2021, Temples presents Italian photographer Giancarlo Pradelli’s contemplative study of isolated religious structures across the remote interior landscapes of Sardinia. Venturing inland—far from the familiar coastal perimeter of the island once known as Ichnusa—Pradelli turns his camera toward abandoned priories, weathered monasteries, and modest rural churches scattered amid mastic bushes, wild thistles, and sun-scorched terrain.

Rather than framing monumental civic landmarks or grand architectural showpieces, Pradelli isolates humble sanctuaries constructed by local builders to withstand severe Mediterranean weather. Over time, exposure to harsh winds and elemental decay has reduced many of these stone walls to partial ruins, transforming the original masonry into sculptural forms in continuous dialogue with their natural surroundings. Pradelli’s rigorous photographic discipline, refined through his background in black-and-white photography and architectural documentation, captures these weathered surfaces and quiet silhouettes with formal clarity.

The book’s narrow geographical focus gives these scattered buildings a shared context. Their remoteness and damaged fabric are part of the subject, while the landscape makes visible how a place of worship continues to change after its surrounding settlement has emptied. This emphasis connects the series with Pradelli’s longstanding interest in architectural ruins overtaken by nature.

Presented in a 96-page hardcover format with trilingual text in Italian, French, and English, the monograph gathers 42 triotone plates alongside scholarly context from art historian Elisabetta Bazzani. For collectors of architectural photography and Mediterranean topography, Temples offers a tightly focused, resonant examination of sacred vernacular architecture, silence, and material persistence in the rural landscape.