The church is located in a place rich in water sources known as 'Cabu abbas' or 'Caput aquae'. The abbey takes its name from the meeting between the judge of Torres Gonario de Lacon-Gunale and Bernard of Clairvaux during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, which led to the creation of a Cistercian monastic community in Sardinia and the construction of the church in 1149. The present building dates back to 1600, while archaeological investigations have revealed traces of the original abbey, abandoned in the 15th century and plundered for building materials. The church had a three-nave structure with a transept, a quadrangular apse, four chapels and a circular oculus illuminating the transept.