# Welcome to Puglia (Apulia) the last unknown Paradise in Italy



## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Abbazia di Santa Maria di Cerrate (Lecce, Italy)*










The Abbey of Santa Maria di Cerrate is located in the country a few kilometres from Lecce. It was build around half of the 12th century as commissioned by Tancredi, Lord of Lecce. Over the years the building was rearranged several times, and today it shows typical decorations from Salento area, an arcade wing on the left hand side of the church and a well from the 16th century. Next to the Abbey, the Museum of Popular Traditions. Here, among the other finds, it is possible to admire panels with frescos from the aisles. 









*External view*

*History*

They Abbey was built by the Tancredi, a noble family from Lecce. The basiliane monks were the first ones who possessed the complex. When their order disappeared, the Abbey was taken over by the Holy See. It was then donated by Pope Clemente VII to the Ospedale degli Incurabili of Naples and eventually abandoned. The Turkish pirates plundered it in 1711. Only in 1965 it was restored by the Provincial Authorities of Lecce. Today it is the seat of the Museum of Popular Traditions. 









*The Nave*

Inside the church, remains of beautiful frescos dating back to the 13th century. From the architectonic features of the building it can be assumed that the Abbey dates back to the first half of the 12th century. The external decorations with thin pilasters and arches is typical from the Salento area. The arches of the complex date back to 13th century and it is supported by 24 columns with 24 capitals, all different in style and shape. In the middle of the complex is the church, isolated, with one nave and two aisles. The central nave is higher and wider. A richly engraved portal indicates the main entrance. Inside there are traces of frescos from the 13th century.









*Interior*


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## lykia (Mar 24, 2009)

Great!!! what is the sea warmth ?? I heard sicily s sea is bit cold ,,is apulia like sicily???


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

lykia said:


> Great!!! what is the sea warmth ?? I heard sicily s sea is bit cold ,,is apulia like sicily???


It's not so cold


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Sunsets in Apulia*









http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/3256004918/









http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/3256007218/









http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2415872888/


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*La Notte della Taranta (Melpignano)*










http://www.lanottedellataranta.it/










The Taranta Night (Notte della Taranta) is the biggest festival for the promotion of traditional "pizzica" of Salento (Puglia, Southern Italy) and its fusion with other musical languages from world music to rock, from jazz to symphonic music. Born in a little village of about 10,000 inhabitants, the Taranta Night in only 9 years reached more than 120,000 participants. Taranta Night is not a simple concert: it's a musical event marking the passage of an ancestral rite into an ethno – sound phenomenon. A kind of Mediterranean rave: 20 musicians on the stage melting tradition and future in an overwhelming performance. Taranta Night is an incredibly powerful project, half way between anthropological fascination and modern sensation.

*Taranta Night: Traditional Music of Salento (Apulia)*


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## italiano_pellicano (Feb 22, 2010)

nice pics


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## Eletrix (May 10, 2004)

Beautiful puglia!


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