Abbey of Santa Maria di Cerrate

You cross a single-track surrounded by lush and suggestive greenery. However, to be followed with caution given the poor front visibility covered by vegetation.

The foundation of this abbey is attested between the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century, when Bohemond I of Altavilla - son of Robert Guiscard - established a monastery of Greek monks, followers of the rule of Saint Basil the Great, who sheltered in Salento to escape the iconoclastic persecutions of Byzantium.

Built near the Roman road that connected Brindisi with Lecce and Otranto, the Abbey was expanded to become one of the most important monastic centers in southern Italy: in 1531, when it came under the control of the Hospital for Incurables of Naples, the the complex includes, in addition to the church, stables, accommodation for the farmers, a well, a mill, two underground oil mills.
Today it is one of the many cultural assets managed by the FAI

beautiful abbey today heritage of the FAI