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One of the most touristic attractive areas of
Puglia and one of the most beautiful landscapes all over the
region is the wonderful Valle d’Itria, the heart of the Murgia
of trulli , whose territory includes the towns of: Martina
Franca, Locorotondo, Alberobello, Ostuni, Cisternino and Ceglie
Messapica.
It is a wonderful Karst swamp (because of the Karst nature of
local rocks) on the south-east of the Murge upland. |
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lThe Valle d’Itria is very rich in history,
art and culture. It is a green sward studded with typical and
ancient cone buildings, the famous “trulli”;
with a great variety of dry-stone little walls that surround
little vines; with some white masserie,
some ancient hollows and small green valleys.
The story:
The medieval Santa Maria d’Itria
or Idria monastery was on the border with the territory of
Monopoli and it belonged to the Basilian monks of Casole (or of
the famous San Nicola di Casole cenoby, founded in 1099 by the
greek monk Giuseppe, following San Basilio rule, in the Land of
Otranto).
S.Maria d’Idria basilian settlement was not very wide, compared
to Sant’Angelo de Grecis feud (Land of Bari, in the territory of
Monopoli), that also depended by S.Nicola di Casole basilian
monastery. Moreover, S.Maria d’Idria settlement was in a
rupestrian church (1200), in some room used as farms and in a
contiguous cave-chapel, called Santa Maria d’Itria, where there
was a late Byzantine fresco of Madonna Odegitria ( the wayfarers
guide). There are few archaeologic and documentary remainings of
this site, except for some news that are written in Isidoro
Chirulli’s book, “Chronologic History of Martina”. Now there is
a Capuchin convent and a church with the same name and, next to
them, there is also a “ Villaggio del Fanciullo ” (an orphanage,
built for the will of Dott.Alfonso Motolese).
Valle d’Itria landscape is embellished by two ancient churches:
San Donato church and the Providence one. The last one is a
little church of 1561 (at that time it was called “Santo Antonio
seu de Padua”), that was restored thanks to the parishioners
contribution and it was then consecrated to Santa Maria della
Provvidenza in the end of the XVII cent.
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