It is located in the immediate outskirts of Ghilarza, near an Aragonese tower and the rustic church of San Giorgio, along the road that leads to one of the most famous medieval religious monuments on the Island, San Pietro di Zuri. The ancient church of San Palmerio is charming and fits harmoniously into the surrounding landscape. It is halfway between urban and rural and is typical of numerous Sardinian Romanesque monuments.

The layout of the building dates back to the first quarter of the 13th century and is mentioned in the condaghe of St Maria of Bonarcado as a place in which hearings were held to settle local controversies. Originally, it had a single nave, with a wooden roof and a bell gable above the façade. The addition of a transept and a quadrangular presbytery in the 17th century meant the loss of the original semi-circular apse.