GALATINA DESCRIPTION FOR INTERNATIONAL TOURIST Galatina is located 20 km south of Lecce. Its origins date back to the first Byzantine colonization. Some 1200 sources cite the importance of the centre of Greek culture. The city also has contaminations of Latin culture, primarily in its religious functions, due to the dissemination by the Normans at the beginning of the 11th century. The Popes called for the latinisation of Galatina to the detriment of the Greek and Byzantine culture. According to tradition Saint Peter introduced Catholicism here upon his return from Antioch, a circumstance that gave it the name of San Pietro in Galatina until the Unification of Italy. The Orsini del Balzo lords, in addition to increasing the economic development of the area, guided Galatina’s population towards the liberation of Pope Urban VI from the prison near Nocera. The eighteenth century building expansion resulted in the construction of churches and elegant buildings decorated with impressive portals and balconies, the “building with central courtyard” which various buildings overlooked was the typical architectural style of the period. Following the urban reorganization Galatina became one of the few cities paved with exposed stone. NOT TO BE MISSED The city’s most famous sight, a national monument since 1886, is the Church of S. Caterina d’Alessandria, Franciscan but with an unusual Umbrian inspiration. The church was commissioned by Raimondello Orsini del Balzo in the 14th century and completed in seven years. In Apulian Romanesque style, it has a centre aisle and two naves divided by two ambulatories. A rose window opens on the façade with the coat of arms of the family who commissioned the church. At the bottom are three portals inlaid with Lecce stone. The interior is decorated with 15th century frescos of the Marche school, which have been recently restored. The rectory contains the Gothic tomb of the commissioner of the church, while the octagonal chapel houses the mausoleum of Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo. A cloister with 1700 frescoes flanks the church. The Mother Church, dedicated to the saints Peter and Paul built most likely around the middle of the 14th century, was the focal point for the characteristic procession of people with tarantism celebrated up until a few years ago on 29 June, with a horseback ceremony combining popular religion and paganism. The Pietro Cavoti Civic Museum houses stone material from the Middle Ages and paintings by local painters (Pietro Cavoti, Gaetano Martinez). The three Byzantine crypts (S. Maria della grotta, Sant’ Anna, Santa Maria della Porta) bear witness to the fleeing from persecution by the Byzantine monks towards the regions of southern Italy. WWW.THEGALATINA.COM
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:31:59 +0000
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