Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Galatone

Encyclopedia : G : GA : GAL : Galatone



 

Galatone is a town located in Salento, in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy).

History

In the middle Ages, Galatone was a Greek center: the Greek language was spoken and Byzantine rites were celebrated in churches up to the end of the 14th century. Antonio de Ferraris ("il Galateo") was born here during the Renaissance, and was author of an important historical and geographical study of the Salentine peninsula.

Main sights

The main at­traction of the town is the Santuario del Crocifisso della Pietà, a Baroque church built between 1696 and 1710. It has a three-level façade richly decorated, as is the interior, surmounted by a magnificent paneled ceiling and a large frescoed cupola.

Facing the Sanctuary stands a 14th century Castle, the residence of the Pignatelli Belmonte family. Other churches include the Chiesa Maggiore (1574-95), the Church of Dominicans (1612-1712) and the small Cha­pel of S. Pietro, also in the Baroque style.

Near Galatone lie the hermitage of S. Nicola dei Pergoleti, the small 13th century Dell'Itria Church. At Fulcignano can be found the remains of a Norman Castle.

External links



 


From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.


Search Titles
0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST
UVWXYZ?

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: