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Abbey of Santa Maria di Cerrate

Abbey of Santa Maria di Cerrate

Highlight • Religious Site

Abbey of Santa Maria di Cerrate

Recommended by 16 hikers out of 17

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Location: Lecce, Apulia, Italy

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Best Hikes to Abbey of Santa Maria di Cerrate

3.5

(2)

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1. Masseria Rugi Pigeon Tower – Pajara di Salento loop from Casalabate

12.1km

03:04

20m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

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2. Pajara di Salento – Tenuta Monacelli Tower loop from Casalabate

12.2km

03:06

30m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

3.5

(2)

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3. Pajara di Salento loop from Casalabate

5.05km

01:17

10m

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

Tips

fedeamelio FAI

December 13, 2023

Once a Byzantine monastery inhabited by Italian-Greek monks, then an agricultural production center specializing in the processing of olives: the Cerrate Abbey offers a fascinating tale of its double soul as a place of worship and historic farm.
fondoambiente.it/luoghi/abbazia-di-santa-maria-di-cerrate

Immersed in a wonderful landscape of olive groves, fruit trees and cultivated areas, legend has it that the Abbey was founded following a vision by King Tancredi d'Altavilla, Count of Lecce, to whom the image of the Madonna appeared , after chasing a doe into a cave. Historically, however, the foundation is attested between the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century, when Boemondo d'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.

The sacking by Turkish pirates in 1711 plunged the entire center into a state of complete abandonment which continued during the 19th century until the intervention of the Province of Lecce in 1965, which entrusted the restoration work to the architect Franco Minissi. Thanks to a public tender promoted by the Province of Lecce, in 2012 the complex was entrusted to the FAI.

Today, after a complex restoration project which also allowed the Church of Santa Maria di Cerrate to be reopened for worship, the Abbey can be visited again and represents a splendid example of Apulian Romanesque architecture embellished with important frescoes which make it unique in the world. Byzantine.

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Elevation 20 m

Weather

Sunday 28 December

14°C

5°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 17.0 km/h

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See hikes here

Take Me There

Location: Lecce, Apulia, Italy

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Abbey of Santa Maria di Cerrate

1. Masseria Rugi Pigeon Tower – Pajara di Salento loop from Casalabate

2. Pajara di Salento – Tenuta Monacelli Tower loop from Casalabate

3. Pajara di Salento loop from Casalabate

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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