Massafra

Grundtvig Multilateral Partnership 2012-2014 F.I.L.M.

MASSAFRA

ITALY

24-27 OCTOBER 2012

Massafra, situated about 16 km from Taranto in a region called Puglia at 110 metres above sea level, is in the south of Italy.

It is a unique blend of history, art, culture and pleasant landscapes. Its sandy shores, surrounded by a verdant and dense pinewood, are lovely but its ravines are a real treasure.

The pattern of settelement is stratified, from the primitive cave villages, to the old town centre and to the expanding modern estates.

The centre, has a typical regional flavour with its groupings of little white houses interpersed with arches, alleyways, steps, balconies and drops common to the Mediterranean urban panorama.

THE HISTORY OF THE RAVINES

The ravines, winding down tortously to the valley below, are a peculiarity of the region. They are the product of the slow action of the weather on the limestone rock and have been compared to the canyons of Colorado.

They have also been defined as “negative mountains� impressed downwards into the terrain.

Many of them have been used for human habitation, while others were natural spontaneous defences. The origins of Massafra, with its 40 thousand inhabitans, are lost in the mists of time. It probably originated as a fortified village on the highlands of Citignano in about the 8th century b.C., and gained in prestige after the Roman age.

In the Middle Ages there was the development of a cave-dwelling civilization, caused by Basilian monks escaping iconoclastic persecutions. They joined the original population.

Life in caves and ravines was widespread in all the South of Italy: settlements among the winding gorges, canyons, woods and highlands are common in Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria and Campania. The age of the ancient settlements spans more than 800 years, from the 8th to the 16th century, and shows an extraordinary range of styles and architectural motifs, being easily compared with those of Cappadocia, Serbia and Georgia.

The caves offered hospitality to a growing population of refugees and local inhabitants.

Artificial caves were dug alongside the natural ones to form rock settlements. The dwellings were generally made up of one or two rooms with monolithic partition walls and low, flat ceilings.

Fireplaces were dug into the walls adjacent to the entrance, and other niches were cut for the family: for grapepresses, oil, honey, legumes and water vessels. The walls and ceilings contained holes to support sleeping benches and wooden planks to store food or to hang lamps.

Some caves contained mangers too. Unfortunately, this heritage has not survived the ravages of time, the weather and the man himself.

Only in recent times local and national projects have been undertaken to saveguard this cultural patrimony.

Gravina of San Marco If tourists want to visit the town, the itinerary takes them first to the “Gravina of San Marco”, which splits the town into two parts, crossed by several bridges, then to the “Gravina of Madonna della Scala”.

It is worth mentioning the “House of Igumeno” ( the religious and political chief of the local community), the “Crypt of San Biagio”, “S. Marina” and “S. Marco”, the “Crypt of Candelora”, “Serafino” and finally the amazing castle.

Gravina of Madonna della Scala In the north of Massafra, there is the “ Valle delle rose�, so called because of its thick vegetation full of medicinal plants, giving the ravine and the town a touch of magic. The vegetation is the classical Mediterranean mixture of pines, oaks, ilexes, mingled with junipers, rosemaries, thymes and myrtles. This ravine has become a place of legends and miths. An example is the Madonna della Scala ( Our Lady of the Steps), object of deep devotion. A superb Sanctuary devoted to the Madonna hangs upon the rocks downward in the ravine. The rural church is rich in antique frescoes.

There are about thirty other crypts spread over the territory around Massafra, some of which of great architectural and iconographic value. The “Crypt of Bona Nova” lies inside the ravine of Madonna della Scala. In the town centre there is the “Crypt of S. Anthony (the abbot), S. Leonardo, S. Caterina”. In the surronding countryside there are the crypts of “ S. Simone, S. Angelo di Colombata, Panareddozza, S. Simine in Pantaleo”, etc…

The caves give way gradually to the modern dwellings spreading along the slopes of the ravines to merge with the urban hinterland.