Art sights
No doubt the art city of Ugento with its three museums, the regional park of the basins, and the archaeological area, is a place of prime interest for the artistic artificial and natural.
Places of architectural interest
The historic city centers
among which those of Gallipoli , Ostuni , Martina Franca , Ceglie , Lecce , Taranto , Manduria , Francavilla Fontana , Oria , Otranto , Nardo , Lizzano , Avetrana , Maglie , Tricase , Grottaglie .
The crypts Basilian
There are numerous cave churches painted with religious reasons in vintage medieval , ancient places of worship housed in natural caves, according to tradition by Basilian monks from the East, but often there are no reliable data for this hypothesis, whose vaults and walls are covered with paintings in Byzantine style . Relevant is the example of the Church Ss.Annunziata rock, with the same name crypt Lizzano , where there are more than 22 paintings of the ninth century ; or the crypt of Santa Cristina in Carpignano Salentino dated 959 and painted by Theophylact. Notes are also those of Vast , fraction of Poggiardo , the cave of San Biagio in San Vito Norman , one of the crucifix near Ugento , the crypt of Sant'Angelo in the territory of Lizzano , or the crypt of Our Lady of the Banner, so called from the image depicting the Virgin Mary placed behind the altar, in the vicinity of St. Euphemia , a hamlet of Tricase .
L ' architecture Rural
Among rural architectures are noteworthy, Pajari - furnieddhi (similar to trulli, in the shape of a truncated cone and circular, built with stones extracted from the surrounding lands, without the help of any mortar or support), the stone walls dry (special type of wall built with rough stone blocks of the place of various shapes and sizes, appropriately arranged without the use of mortar or binders of any kind), the farms (present in large numbers in the land of arneo and in the countryside of Nardo (large farms fortified, sometimes inhabited by landowners, and that includes housing for seasonal workers, stables, warehouses, forage and crops).
The churches in style Apulian Romanesque
Among the Romanesque churches are worthy of note is the church of Santa Maria del Casale and Cathedral in Brindisi, the Church of St. Nicholas and Cataldo in Lecce, the church of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Galatina and the church of San Domenico Maggiore Taranto
The fortified city and the Castle of Acaya
Acaya is a small hamlet of Vernole , in the province of Lecce. Located 5 km from the Adriatic Sea and Nature Reserve The Gesine WWF, is the only example of a fortified city still intact in all of South Italy. Acaya, called Salapia and then Segine in Messapian, located along the ancient road that came up to Otranto . The town, in 1535, was completely renovated and rearranged urbanistically fortified by Giangiacomo dell'Acaya , a humanist versed in mathematics, military engineer of Charles V and the feudal lord of Acaya. Completion of the work in the year 1535 , it also changed the name so that, as he wrote in the epigraph above the entrance to the country, God willing, the name of the ancient Acaya from which came his ancestors could be renewed in the lands of Salento . The country has an orthogonal with a thistle and a decumano. Almost square, the city walls are reinforced at the four corners of the bulwarks of which is to the south-west and consists of the castle of Acaya. Thus the fort is adequate to the most updated principles of fortification to the modern. Below the castle was found archaeological evidence of a church of worship greek Basilian of the ninth century, with important icons painted. There are three squares along the diagonal axis that runs in NE-SW direction and that starts from the castle and ends with the convent of Friars Minor.
The fortifications medieval and watchtowers
There are many coastal watch towers erected since the fifteenth century along the coast, with the goal of spotting and defend themselves in time from enemy fleets Saracen coming from the east in large numbers along the coast west of the coast of Salento, the most impressive ones commonly called "series Nardo". Numerous castles and farms that stand out for the territory, in towns and cities.
The town of Ostuni
The village is one of the most beautiful in Italy with the narrow streets that racked my brains between the typical houses whitewashed. The apparent disorder distribution of housing around the cathedral give the old town a unique conformation. It is one of the most famous cities in South Italy, symbol of Puglia in numerous commercials and tourist attractions internationally.
The historic center of Lecce
The historic center of Lecce , closed in the ancient walls punctuated by ' Arch of Charles V , from Porta Rudiae and Porta San Biagio , is rich in works of art, among which we highlight some of the wonderful examples baroque present, the Square Cathedral , the Basilica of Santa Croce and the Palazzo dei Celestini , the churches of St. John the Baptist and St. Matthew and the majestic ruins of the ' Amphitheatre and the Theatre , both from the Roman era. Stands stern instead the Castle of Charles V near Piazza Sant'Oronzo . Outside the walls of the Angevin towers Belloluogo and the Park and the great monastic complex Olivetani .
Architectures baroque
The Baroque Lecce , born at the end of the sixteenth century, in the climate of the Counter-Reformation , lasts until the first half of the eighteenth century in one with the Rococo and presents itself as one of the artistic and architectural models more details d ' Italy , so that you adjectival, identifying the affected area. The baroque architecture is flourishing in Lecce and in all municipalities of the province, in the Salento Greece and in major centers of Salento, such as Galatina , Gallipoli , Maglie , Nardo , Cupertino , Galatone and Lequile . The articulated decoration of facades of churches and palaces create scenic apparatus visionary exuberance that is unique, made possible by the use of warm and tender calcareous stone (tuff ). The capital Lecce, rich in monuments, preserves masterpieces of Baroque art: the Basilica of Santa Croce and the monumental Celestine and the Piazza del Duomo, considered the most beautiful in Italy. But the Baroque has spread north of Lecce , especially in the towns of Manduria , Mesa , Francavilla Fontana , Taranto and the other capital of baroque Martina Franca which has, however, a more sober style and eleganta yet also very sumptuous.
The Cape of Leuca and its countries
Of particular interest are the palaces, the white streets and baroque churches not far from the sea countries Capo di Leuca. Among these, the municipality of Mirror is included in the list of the hundred most beautiful villages in Italy.
The villas stately style eclectic
The eclectic style of Salento represented a form of mannerism architectural widespread during the belle epoque , whose testimonies are found mainly in Leuca , Nardo, Santa Caterina and Lecce .
Contemporary architecture
An interesting development of contemporary architecture in Salento is the Monumental Cemetery of Parabita ; designed in 1968 by the Group GRAU (Roman Group Architects Urbanistici) of Rome and opened in 1983 .
the ancient village of Taranto
located on the island and connected to the mainland by the Swing Bridge and the Bridge of Porta Napoli . Interesting are the narrow and complicated, and the facades of tall buildings in stone calcarenitic ( tuff and carparo). There you can admire the Cathedral of San Cataldo , the cathedral of San Domenico Maggiore and the Temple of Poseidon (Taranto) . Also you can visit the ethnographic museum and the various tombs found in the palaces.
Places of archaeological interest
§ The finds prehistoric : Among the prehistoric remains are noteworthy the specchie (ancient monuments megalithic realized through the use of large blocks in dry stone ), the dolmen ( tombs megalithic prehistoric single chamber), the standing stones (megaliths monolithic usually erected in Stone Age ).
§ The area of the necropolis messapica at Manduria : The area has interesting remains messapici regarding graves of various periods, a moat, a double walls and the remains of some of the streets of the ancient city.
§ Museum widespread Castello d'Alceste in San Vito Norman : The excavation has identified traces of a village huts in the second half of ' the eighth century BC and housing plan oval with coverage of perishable material. For they overlap in the sixth century BC buildings with a completely different, reflecting the advent of new construction techniques and a new way to conceive the living.
§ The Museum spread of Cavallino : It covers an area of 45 hectares in which was found a settlement messapico Archaic period which hosts educational activities for students in the field of Archaeology of the ' University of Salento and other Italian universities and European.
§ The archaeological messapica of Roca : It has been brought to light the ancient walled city of Old Roca built over an earlier prehistoric site. On the walls of the sea cave of small posia were found inscriptions messapica and Latin, as well as prehistoric [30] .
§ The archaeological and Ori of Taranto : The archaeological evidence of how the processing of precious metals , and in particular of ' gold , was one of the most developed cities in Magna Graecia between the IV and the first century BC
§ The archaeological remains and the archaeological sites of Taranto and Vivid .
§ The archaeological zones of Casale of Apigliano : The items unearthed in archaeological sites are able to provide information about the Byzantine period and the Angevin period . With reference to the first, remains have been found in some rural dwellings built with the technique of drywall , which show the presence of a settlement large enough. The richest are the findings related to the Angevin period, as the remains of a chapel believed to represent the church of San Giorgio.
§ The ' underground 'De Beaumont Bonelli Bellacicco ", located in the old town of Taranto in Corso Vittorio Emanuele at number 39, is a structure that is derived from an ancient quarry spartan and that tells the story of Taranto since the geological dating back to about 65 million years ago, with subsequent tracks Magna Greek, Byzantine , medieval and eighteenth century . The underground is on three levels totaling 700 sqm and 14 meters below street level. Inside there is a bed of rock limestone , on which you can see the remains fossils of mussels typical of Taranto. The outer walls are of Byzantine origin, and it is very likely that the wall that divides the structure from the sea may have origins Magna Graecia. The underground has an outlet in fact exclusive to the sea level , which allows direct access to the shoreline of the waterfront of the ancient town. This structure was erected in the period following the Palazzo de Beaumont Bonelli , residence of the Marquise De Beaumont and Prince Bonelli her husband. Both structures, although private, are available to visitors free of charge, as heritage of history and art of Taranto.
No doubt the art city of Ugento with its three museums, the regional park of the basins, and the archaeological area, is a place of prime interest for the artistic artificial and natural.
Places of architectural interest
The historic city centers
among which those of Gallipoli , Ostuni , Martina Franca , Ceglie , Lecce , Taranto , Manduria , Francavilla Fontana , Oria , Otranto , Nardo , Lizzano , Avetrana , Maglie , Tricase , Grottaglie .
The crypts Basilian
There are numerous cave churches painted with religious reasons in vintage medieval , ancient places of worship housed in natural caves, according to tradition by Basilian monks from the East, but often there are no reliable data for this hypothesis, whose vaults and walls are covered with paintings in Byzantine style . Relevant is the example of the Church Ss.Annunziata rock, with the same name crypt Lizzano , where there are more than 22 paintings of the ninth century ; or the crypt of Santa Cristina in Carpignano Salentino dated 959 and painted by Theophylact. Notes are also those of Vast , fraction of Poggiardo , the cave of San Biagio in San Vito Norman , one of the crucifix near Ugento , the crypt of Sant'Angelo in the territory of Lizzano , or the crypt of Our Lady of the Banner, so called from the image depicting the Virgin Mary placed behind the altar, in the vicinity of St. Euphemia , a hamlet of Tricase .
L ' architecture Rural
Among rural architectures are noteworthy, Pajari - furnieddhi (similar to trulli, in the shape of a truncated cone and circular, built with stones extracted from the surrounding lands, without the help of any mortar or support), the stone walls dry (special type of wall built with rough stone blocks of the place of various shapes and sizes, appropriately arranged without the use of mortar or binders of any kind), the farms (present in large numbers in the land of arneo and in the countryside of Nardo (large farms fortified, sometimes inhabited by landowners, and that includes housing for seasonal workers, stables, warehouses, forage and crops).
The churches in style Apulian Romanesque
Among the Romanesque churches are worthy of note is the church of Santa Maria del Casale and Cathedral in Brindisi, the Church of St. Nicholas and Cataldo in Lecce, the church of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Galatina and the church of San Domenico Maggiore Taranto
The fortified city and the Castle of Acaya
Acaya is a small hamlet of Vernole , in the province of Lecce. Located 5 km from the Adriatic Sea and Nature Reserve The Gesine WWF, is the only example of a fortified city still intact in all of South Italy. Acaya, called Salapia and then Segine in Messapian, located along the ancient road that came up to Otranto . The town, in 1535, was completely renovated and rearranged urbanistically fortified by Giangiacomo dell'Acaya , a humanist versed in mathematics, military engineer of Charles V and the feudal lord of Acaya. Completion of the work in the year 1535 , it also changed the name so that, as he wrote in the epigraph above the entrance to the country, God willing, the name of the ancient Acaya from which came his ancestors could be renewed in the lands of Salento . The country has an orthogonal with a thistle and a decumano. Almost square, the city walls are reinforced at the four corners of the bulwarks of which is to the south-west and consists of the castle of Acaya. Thus the fort is adequate to the most updated principles of fortification to the modern. Below the castle was found archaeological evidence of a church of worship greek Basilian of the ninth century, with important icons painted. There are three squares along the diagonal axis that runs in NE-SW direction and that starts from the castle and ends with the convent of Friars Minor.
The fortifications medieval and watchtowers
There are many coastal watch towers erected since the fifteenth century along the coast, with the goal of spotting and defend themselves in time from enemy fleets Saracen coming from the east in large numbers along the coast west of the coast of Salento, the most impressive ones commonly called "series Nardo". Numerous castles and farms that stand out for the territory, in towns and cities.
The town of Ostuni
The village is one of the most beautiful in Italy with the narrow streets that racked my brains between the typical houses whitewashed. The apparent disorder distribution of housing around the cathedral give the old town a unique conformation. It is one of the most famous cities in South Italy, symbol of Puglia in numerous commercials and tourist attractions internationally.
The historic center of Lecce
The historic center of Lecce , closed in the ancient walls punctuated by ' Arch of Charles V , from Porta Rudiae and Porta San Biagio , is rich in works of art, among which we highlight some of the wonderful examples baroque present, the Square Cathedral , the Basilica of Santa Croce and the Palazzo dei Celestini , the churches of St. John the Baptist and St. Matthew and the majestic ruins of the ' Amphitheatre and the Theatre , both from the Roman era. Stands stern instead the Castle of Charles V near Piazza Sant'Oronzo . Outside the walls of the Angevin towers Belloluogo and the Park and the great monastic complex Olivetani .
Architectures baroque
The Baroque Lecce , born at the end of the sixteenth century, in the climate of the Counter-Reformation , lasts until the first half of the eighteenth century in one with the Rococo and presents itself as one of the artistic and architectural models more details d ' Italy , so that you adjectival, identifying the affected area. The baroque architecture is flourishing in Lecce and in all municipalities of the province, in the Salento Greece and in major centers of Salento, such as Galatina , Gallipoli , Maglie , Nardo , Cupertino , Galatone and Lequile . The articulated decoration of facades of churches and palaces create scenic apparatus visionary exuberance that is unique, made possible by the use of warm and tender calcareous stone (tuff ). The capital Lecce, rich in monuments, preserves masterpieces of Baroque art: the Basilica of Santa Croce and the monumental Celestine and the Piazza del Duomo, considered the most beautiful in Italy. But the Baroque has spread north of Lecce , especially in the towns of Manduria , Mesa , Francavilla Fontana , Taranto and the other capital of baroque Martina Franca which has, however, a more sober style and eleganta yet also very sumptuous.
The Cape of Leuca and its countries
Of particular interest are the palaces, the white streets and baroque churches not far from the sea countries Capo di Leuca. Among these, the municipality of Mirror is included in the list of the hundred most beautiful villages in Italy.
The villas stately style eclectic
The eclectic style of Salento represented a form of mannerism architectural widespread during the belle epoque , whose testimonies are found mainly in Leuca , Nardo, Santa Caterina and Lecce .
Contemporary architecture
An interesting development of contemporary architecture in Salento is the Monumental Cemetery of Parabita ; designed in 1968 by the Group GRAU (Roman Group Architects Urbanistici) of Rome and opened in 1983 .
the ancient village of Taranto
located on the island and connected to the mainland by the Swing Bridge and the Bridge of Porta Napoli . Interesting are the narrow and complicated, and the facades of tall buildings in stone calcarenitic ( tuff and carparo). There you can admire the Cathedral of San Cataldo , the cathedral of San Domenico Maggiore and the Temple of Poseidon (Taranto) . Also you can visit the ethnographic museum and the various tombs found in the palaces.
Places of archaeological interest
§ The finds prehistoric : Among the prehistoric remains are noteworthy the specchie (ancient monuments megalithic realized through the use of large blocks in dry stone ), the dolmen ( tombs megalithic prehistoric single chamber), the standing stones (megaliths monolithic usually erected in Stone Age ).
§ The area of the necropolis messapica at Manduria : The area has interesting remains messapici regarding graves of various periods, a moat, a double walls and the remains of some of the streets of the ancient city.
§ Museum widespread Castello d'Alceste in San Vito Norman : The excavation has identified traces of a village huts in the second half of ' the eighth century BC and housing plan oval with coverage of perishable material. For they overlap in the sixth century BC buildings with a completely different, reflecting the advent of new construction techniques and a new way to conceive the living.
§ The Museum spread of Cavallino : It covers an area of 45 hectares in which was found a settlement messapico Archaic period which hosts educational activities for students in the field of Archaeology of the ' University of Salento and other Italian universities and European.
§ The archaeological messapica of Roca : It has been brought to light the ancient walled city of Old Roca built over an earlier prehistoric site. On the walls of the sea cave of small posia were found inscriptions messapica and Latin, as well as prehistoric [30] .
§ The archaeological and Ori of Taranto : The archaeological evidence of how the processing of precious metals , and in particular of ' gold , was one of the most developed cities in Magna Graecia between the IV and the first century BC
§ The archaeological remains and the archaeological sites of Taranto and Vivid .
§ The archaeological zones of Casale of Apigliano : The items unearthed in archaeological sites are able to provide information about the Byzantine period and the Angevin period . With reference to the first, remains have been found in some rural dwellings built with the technique of drywall , which show the presence of a settlement large enough. The richest are the findings related to the Angevin period, as the remains of a chapel believed to represent the church of San Giorgio.
§ The ' underground 'De Beaumont Bonelli Bellacicco ", located in the old town of Taranto in Corso Vittorio Emanuele at number 39, is a structure that is derived from an ancient quarry spartan and that tells the story of Taranto since the geological dating back to about 65 million years ago, with subsequent tracks Magna Greek, Byzantine , medieval and eighteenth century . The underground is on three levels totaling 700 sqm and 14 meters below street level. Inside there is a bed of rock limestone , on which you can see the remains fossils of mussels typical of Taranto. The outer walls are of Byzantine origin, and it is very likely that the wall that divides the structure from the sea may have origins Magna Graecia. The underground has an outlet in fact exclusive to the sea level , which allows direct access to the shoreline of the waterfront of the ancient town. This structure was erected in the period following the Palazzo de Beaumont Bonelli , residence of the Marquise De Beaumont and Prince Bonelli her husband. Both structures, although private, are available to visitors free of charge, as heritage of history and art of Taranto.