Οι καλύτερες ποδηλατικές διαδρομές στον Τάραντα

The Mother Church of Montemesola, dedicated to Santa Maria della Croce. The original building dates back to the 18th century but has undergone numerous and significant renovations in modern times.

A small town that can be reached in less than an hour; excellent for a stopover during a journey.

Very panoramic, unfortunately we were there in the rain ☔️

beautiful road inside the Pianelle forest

Locorotondo is a characteristic Apulian village located in the Itria Valley, with a circular layout, known for its “cummerse”, typical houses with sloping roofs.

A fortified church

Very easy to reach.

The Collegiate Church (Main Church) represents an expansion in successive phases of the small church already existing in the 12th century dedicated to the Marian cult and radically transformed over the centuries. Currently arranged on three naves, it houses a 14th-century polychrome baptismal font, a sculptural group of the Madonna Enthroned with Child (1505), attributed to the local artist Stefano da Putignano; a Baroque Crucifix and 14 large canvases of the Via Crucis. The canvases are mentioned in the church's archive documents starting from 1745 and constitute a stylistically poor and modest collection, with Caravaggio influences, probably commissioned by the church chapter to the Lecce friar Luigi del Santissimo Sacramento with the aim of instructing the faithful. In the presbytery there is a polyptych in local stone and wood. Commissioned by the Count of Conversano Giulio Antonio Acquaviva and built by Nuzzo Barba di Galatina, it houses 9 stone statues with the exception of one in wood, which depict the Madonna with child in the central part, in the upper register Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Rocco, Saint Sebastian and the Risen Christ, while in the lower register Saint Dominic of Guzman (in wood), Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Vito Martyr. The ancient Gothic façade of the collegiate church, with interventions carried out between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th, was replaced by a new neoclassical façade through the construction of a large pediment that altered the original design. In the second half of the 18th century, the current bell tower (35 m high) was completed to replace the pre-existing one. Finally, in the mid-19th century, the wooden vault of the central nave was raised and the columns dating back to the Gothic structure were incorporated into new stone pillars. Ref. www.fondoambiente.it