Martina Franca (Martène in the local dialect) is an Italian town of 47 536 inhabitants in the province of Taranto in Puglia. Known for its Baroque architecture, it rises on the southern offshoots of the Murge, on the border of the provinces of Taranto and Brindisi with the metropolitan city of Bari. An important agricultural and viticultural center, the town is also known for hosting the Itria Valley Festival, born in 1975.
Minor Basilica of San Martino
Built
in the second half of the eighteenth century, on the initiative of
the archpriest Isidoro Chirulli, on the site where the previous
Romanesque collegiate stood, it is an example of the Martinese
baroque. It is characterized by the majestic facade, on which the
image of the Patron stands out in the center, sharing the cloak with
a beggar in Amiens. Inside, the main altar in polychrome marble from
1773 of the Neapolitan school, the large chapel of the Blessed
Sacrament, a nativity scene by Stefano da Putignano and various
paintings by Domenico Antonio Carella are worthy of note. It houses
the relics of Santa Comasia, that tradition wants to be a martyr
between the second and fourth centuries and of Santa Martina.
In April 1998, Pope John Paul II elevated it to the dignity of a
minor basilica.
From 20 December 2015 to 11 November 2016 it
was a Jubilee Church.
The peculiarity of this church consists
in the fact that on the right side there are statues, while the left
side is decorated exclusively with paintings. There is also a statue
of Our Lady of the Help of Christians and Jesus Scourged at the
Column from 1622.
Church of San Domenico,
built between 1746 and 1750 on a pre-existing Romanesque building
dedicated to San Pietro, in an elegant Baroque style.
Church of
the Beata Vergine del Carmelo or del Carmine, the Carmelite Father
Pier Tommaso Carbotti was responsible for promoting the construction
project of the Carmine church, of which the first stone was laid on
25 March 1730, completed in 1758 in an elegant Baroque style, church
is located outside the city walls. It preserves a precious
polychrome statue (Santa Maria della Misericordia) attributed to
Stefano da Putignano.
Church of Sant'Antonio da Padova, formerly
dedicated to Santo Stefano, was built by the Observant Franciscans
in the 15th century; the façade was rebuilt in neoclassical style in
1835. The interior preserves two Renaissance sculptures by Stefano
da Putignano: Santo Stefano and Sant'Antonio da Padova. The cloister
preserves eighteenth-century frescoes.
Church of Sant'Antonio ai
Cappuccini, was built in the sixteenth century on the ancient
grancia of the Basilian monks. The church inside preserves some
beautiful cabinet-making altars, in addition to the ancient fresco
of the Madonna dell'Odegitria (from which the name of the Valle
d'Itria derives) and many paintings dated between the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries: in the premises of the old convent
headquarters of the foundation of San Girolamo Emiliani - Children's
Village, help for children with family problems.
Church of San
Francesco da Paola, dates back to the early seventeenth century and
was built by the minimums on a previous sixteenth-century chapel of
the Madonna of Constantinople, of which it still retains a canvas at
the bottom of the left aisle. Adjacent to the church there is the
so-called convent of the Paolotti in which Father Bonaventura Gaona
lived at the beginning of the seventeenth century, who died and
buried in Rome (in Sant'Andrea delle Fratte) in the concept of
holiness.
Church of San Francesco d'Assisi, built between the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by the conventual minor friars.
Inside it preserves eight side altars in Lecce Baroque, unique of
their kind in Martina and since 1716 has organized the procession of
the Mysteries on the evening of Good Friday and on the evening of
Holy Thursday the procession of the Addolorata since 2000.
Church
of San Giovanni dei Greci, has preserved the original medieval
internal structure with a rectangular hall, only the facade was
redone in the Baroque period when the second upper floor was
created.
Church of San Pietro dei Greci, the late
fifteenth-century structure retains the typical pignon roof covering
with chiancarelle and the bell gable on the side entrance.
Church
of San Nicola in Montedoro, is one of the oldest churches in
Martina, the interior is completely frescoed.
Church of San Vito,
located in the historic center between via Ignazio Ciaia and via
Mazzini, not far from the so-called "descent of the mills" and the
Porta San Nicola, the church of San Vito is one of the oldest
buildings in the city. Its construction takes place between the end
of the 13th century and the beginning of the following century.
Imposing and austere, the facade is decorated with ashlar and ends
in a bell gable with three round arches dating back to the 15th
century. The portal, with simple and harmonious lines, is surmounted
by a small single-light window that allows the interior to be
illuminated. The single nave, perpendicular to the main entrance,
was entirely redecorated in a Baroque style during the 18th century.
Chiesa dell'Annunziata, is an ancient rectangular church outside the
walls that houses the Archconfraternity of Monte Carmelo and a
museum that preserves significant testimonies of the religious
association.
Provvidenza Church, this is also a simple church
that stands on the ancient road that once led to the Itria Valley.
The roof is pignon with a bell gable and the interior retains some
tempera.
Church of the Holy Spirit, it is a small church close to the
Itria Valley with a covering of chiancarelle, dates back to the 16th
century and the interior has frescoes in the presbytery area.
Church of San Donato, dating back to the 16th century, is a small
church in the Itria Valley with a pignon roof but today it is
completely abandoned.
Chiesa di Cristo Re, dating back to 1961,
is one of the most modern churches in Martina Franca.
Parish of
the Holy Family, built between 1978 and 1982 (on May 3, 1982, Mons.
Motolese blessed it). Of particular importance is the Byzantine
mosaic by Guido Veroi, medalist and sculptor.
Church of San
Michele Arcangelo, built around the 18th century near the cave of
the hermits which houses a stone statue of the titular saint.
Church of the Madonna di Loreto Embellished with a Deposition from
1894 and an external structure characterized by the presence of
delightful statuettes, angels and saints, built in the century. XVI
contains some paintings made by Carella.
Church of S.Irene and
Cristo Spirante, located in the district of Carpari.
Ducal Palace
Begun in the second half of the
seventeenth century by the will of Duke Petracone Caracciolo, in it
the Renaissance element crosses with the Baroque of Lecce
inspiration and the local architectural imprint. Once the residence
of the Caracciolo dukes, it is the seat of the Town Hall. Inside the
rooms of Arcadia, of Myth and of the Bible, which take their name
from the cycles of frescoes housed in them, all works by the
Francavilla painter Domenico Carella who painted them in 1776.
Stately buildings
The most significant palaces of Martina
from a historical and artistic point of view are listed below. Each
building is reported with the original historical name, that is, of
the family that had it built and then the name of the families that
have taken over over the centuries for reasons of inheritance or
purchase of the property.
Palazzo Nardelli, formerly
Martucci, in a beautiful position in Piazza Roma, distinguished by
the pilasters that enclose the windows symmetrically arranged in the
white backgrounds of the facade.
Palazzo Barnaba, another name of
Marturano, built in 1719 by Count Barnaba, stands out for the two
stone balconies that define the facade.
Palazzo del cavalier
Semeraro, built in 1733, stands out for the entrance portal with
double ashlar frame.
Palazzo Delfini, built in 1776, as the
epigraph on the portal clearly indicates, which also bears the
heraldic symbol of the family: a dolphin.
Palazzo Ancona is one
of the most beautiful palaces in Martina, due to the two lateral
caryatids and the central apotropaic mask.
Palazzo Carucci,
another name Fighera, erected in 1777 is characterized by the
apotropaic mask.
Palazzo Magli, another denomination Ruggeri then
Barnaba and Caroli, erected in 1759, as reported by the elegant
cartouche placed on the Rococo portal.
Palazzo Marinosci, erected
in 1744, of which the balconies with shaped necklaces and the
tombstone of Martino Marinosci, a nineteenth-century botanist from
Martina are worthy of note.
Palazzo Blasi, another name Gioia e
Chiarelli, built in 1774, stands out for its wide wrought iron
balconies.
Torricella Palace, formerly Fanelli, built in 1749 by
Ambrogio Fanelli, notable for the variegated shapes of the side
balconies.
Palazzo Turnone, which later became the Conservatory
of Santa Maria della Misericordia, built around the end of the
fifteenth century or the first half of the sixteenth century, was
probably one of the first stately residences in the city time of the
Angevins). It was the ancient home of the Turnone family, of which,
with its imposing extension, it testified to the considerable social
and economic prestige. In the early eighteenth century Don Giovanni
Turnone (1634-1715), abbot and canon of the collegiate church of San
Martino, donated it to the Duchess Aurelia Imperiali (wife of
Petracone V Caracciolo), who transformed it into a monastic complex
that still exists and operates.
Palazzo Magli, another Blasi
denomination, now Palazzo Lella, built in 1748 on a previous 16th
century courtyard house.
Motolese Palace, later Marinosci, built
in 1778, is crowned at the top by a balcony of shaped columns.
Palazzo Maggi, is characterized by an airy upper veranda.
Court
house Le Marangi, founded in 1735, develops around an internal
courtyard (inks).
Former hospital, built in 1783 thanks to the
income of the canon Michelangelo Cappellari.
University building,
also known as the court, seat of the Artisan Association and of the
Popular Library prof. Michelangelo Semeraro. Built between 1759 and
1762, it was the seat of the local Parliament, in fact the façade
bears the coat of arms of the city: a unbridled horse.
Palazzo Stabile, the eighteenth-century building differs for the
two large verandas that delimit the front elevation.
Palazzo
Paolo Marino Motolese, the lower part was built in 1716, while the
upper floors were added in 1758.
Motolese Palace, has two
entrances, the main one in via Principe Umberto bears the date of
foundation 1775.
Palazzo Blasi, formerly Magli, rebuilt in the
eighteenth century on a previous structure of the sixteenth century;
significant is the apotropaic wooden mask of the door.
Palazzo
Casavola, another denomination Ancona, is a typical
eighteenth-century building with refined moldings of the portal and
windows.
Palazzo Recupero, another name Magno - Cofano (Cultural
living room of Teresa Gentile), the bulk of the imposing
late-eighteenth-century palace is characterized by the Pompeian red
color.
"Pala Wojtyla" Sports Hall
The Palazzetto dello
Sport and Multifunctional Center for Sport, Culture and Leisure
"Pala Wojtyla" was designed by the design studio Donati D'Elia
Associati and was completed in 2004.
The building organism,
clearly of post-modern inspiration, consists of three volumes that
interpenetrate: the T-shaped head, the central circular body hosting
the multifunctional area with the stands (1,800 seats) and the
parallelepiped that closes the composition.
Old Town
The
urban planning of the historic center of Martina is characterized by
houses developed vertically: the rooms on the ground floor, and
sometimes partially underground, were used as a shop. On the first
floor, however, there is the living area, with kitchen and dining
room. Usually there was also a fireplace, which performed a dual
function: it served to cook the dishes and acted as a stove, both
for the first floor and, thanks to the flue, also for the upper
floors.
In this floor it is also easy to find an entrance to
the well, which unlike the flue has a "chimney" that reaches under
the house, in the place where the water cistern is located, mostly
of rain origin. The well was also used as a rudimentary
refrigerator, thanks to the freshness guaranteed by the limestone of
the subsoil of Martina. The food was deposited in a copper or iron
bucket with a small bottom and a wide mouth (a half cone upside
down) and placed in a "surface of water" in the well. The second
floor is the sleeping area. Here is the bedroom, or rooms, generally
with a balcony or window, which communicates with the roof of the
house.
The roof is used in various ways. Generally it is a
useful space to hang out the laundry or even to set up tables (some
houses have a communicating roof and at the same level as the
neighboring house, often without any separating wall). In the
summer, the roofs are transformed into real natural dryers: the
elderly let them dry figs, walnuts, broad beans and other foods, or
"purge" the wool and mattresses. The peculiarity of the Apulian
houses, unlike the rest of the Italian peninsula, lies in the fact
that the roofs are in Greek style, that is flat and not sloping.
This is because the Apulian climate is very mild, cool, without
particular rainfall (it is rare to see deep snow, as it happened in
1985). The few spiovenze are used to channel the water into the
calcareous cisterns placed in the subsoil (commonly called ù pozz ')
which were a source of useful water, given the scarcity of the
latter in the region.
An important feature of the historic
center were the narrow streets full of "edges", dead ends and hidden
streets: a true urban labyrinth. In ancient times this arrangement
had a double advantage: in the event of an enemy invasion, it was a
means of gaining time during a possible escape, or to ambush enemies
by exploiting dead ends and "hidden" or barely visible streets.
Streets of the historic center
The streets of Martina have a
particular depression in the middle of the road, unlike the other
modern roads which instead have a "humpback" road surface. From an
architectural point of view, the historic center is mostly in
Baroque and Rococo style, clearly visible in the churches (for
example the former Collegiata, now basilica, of San Martino). Part
of the current pavement was redone in the 1980s, but once the
difference in the paving of the streets indicated the logistics of
the historic center. In fact, the main roads that led to the ancient
gates, therefore outside the historic center, were made with black
lava stone, while the labyrinthine ones that led inward were made
with white stones. In some edges of the streets this chromatic
difference is still found.
Natural areas
The Itria Valley
and the trulli
The Valle d'Itria is an artistic and natural wealth for the
Martina Franca area and is therefore also the main destination for
tourists. To remember are the characteristic dry stone walls, the
trulli (in martinese casedde), built during the periods of peasant
civilization outside the urban area, unlike what happens in
Alberobello, where they are located inside the town.
In the
last forty years, illegal building has erased various peculiarities
of the territory (such as the numerous mule tracks) and has
contributed to the compromise of the local flora and fauna.
Bosco delle Pianelle Regional Nature Reserve
Along the provincial
road n. 581 Martina-Massafra, rises the Bosco delle Pianelle
Regional Nature Reserve, established by the Puglia Region with Law
no. 27.
It is a wooded area lying along the slopes of the
Gravina delle Pianelle, whose dominant vegetation is made up of tall
holm oak, Mediterranean scrub and oak (fragno and downy oak).
Origins
One of the oldest human settlements is at Monte
Fellone. The findings (including fragments of impressed, engraved
and graffitied pottery) from the Monte Fellone cave, the subject of
archaeological excavations in the 1960s, testify to human presence
from the Neolithic to the 4th century AD. In the case of Monte
Fellone, horse breeding dates back to the Middle Neolithic, a rather
rare phenomenon for Southern Italy and unique in Puglia. There are
numerous specchie, the best known of which is Specchia Tarantina, at
the border between the Messapian and Taranto territories, with a
defensive, territorial control and territorial demarcation function.
From the early Middle Ages to the modern era
In the early
Middle Ages the territory was under the influence of the Lombards
who alternated with the authority of the Eastern Roman Empire and in
the 10th century a place of defense against the invasion of the
Saracens. The remains of some large dry stone walls called paretone
could be referable to the presence of the Limitone of the Greeks to
the southwest. In the 9th century, a group of Jews fleeing from
Oria, and among the few survivors of the large Jewish community of
Oria, joined the settlement built around the hamlet of San Salvatore
nella Lama del Fullonese.
The origins of Martina Franca, as a
village, date back to the 10th century, when a small village of
refugees from Taranto arose on Monte di San Martino, who fled from
the constant devastation of the Saracens, and to which a community
of shepherds was later added. In fact, in the 13th century, the
mountain was owned by Glicerio de Persona, lord of the Terre di
Ceglie del Gualdo, Mottola, Soleto and Casale di San Pietro in
Galatina.
He sided with Conrad IV of Swabia son of Frederick
II of Swabia and King of Sicily against the Angevins. Fallen also
Manfredi of Sicily, the last of the Swabians, Charles I of Anjou
orders the capture of Glicerio, whom he condemned for felony, who
had gone into hiding in the countryside of Taranto where he was
captured, taken to prison in the castle of Brindisi (together with
his sons Gervasio, Giovanni and Perello) and finally suffered the
gallows. Around 1300 Martina Franca was elected municipality by
order of the Principality of Philip I of Anjou. Philip I granted
Martina to Pietro del Tocco to reward him for the services he
performed.
The territory at the time consisted of a castle
historically located in the current area called "Montedoro", and two
miles of land around the castle, subtracted from the territory of
Taranto, from the University of Monopoli and from the University of
Ostuni for the rural settlement of massari (in Martinese ù masser,
that is, farmers who rent land and household goods). It seems that
Philip of Anjou had also granted rights and exemptions to those who
came to settle in Martina, and for this reason it was called
"Franca".
Between 1770 and 1776, St. Alphonsus Maria de
'Liguori tried several times to build a Redemptorist mission in the
territory of Martina Franca and wrote a small operetta in response
to some theses of Abbot Magli di Martina: Declaration of the system
around the rule of moral actions.
The Jews in Martina Franca
Between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the Jewish community
of Martina Franca settled, subjected to attempts at conversion and
abuses by the martinesi, in fact the municipality of Martina asked
and obtained from King Frederick of Aragon to prohibit "new
Christians", converted Jews, from to file a complaint against the
citizens of Martina who had plundered them and always prohibited
them from living in the city at the explicit request of the
University of Martina. The Giudecca di Martina can be found in the
current via degli Orfanelli, with the appendix of via Cappelletti
and in vico Montedoro.
Located on the south-eastern hills of the
Murgia, Martina Franca is located at an altitude of 431 m above sea
level and covers an area of approximately 299 km², ranking 40th in
terms of extension among Italian municipalities.
In the
surrounding countryside there are numerous caves; in the hamlet of
Monte Fellone of considerable archaeological importance are the
Cuoco cave and the Monte Fellone cave.
The reference
meteorological station is that of Martina Franca Specchia Tarantina.
The term Martina derives from the devotion of the inhabitants as early as the year 1000 to San Martino di Tours, in fact the primitive settlement of the city was born on a mountain called precisely of San Martino, while the adjective Franca was added by Filippo I D'Angiò in 1310 when he recognized the city different privileges, ie franchises and perpetual state property. Then in 1310 the city was called Franca Martina, then over the centuries, losing its perpetual state property, the adjective Franca disappeared. Only after the unification of Italy, in 1861, the city was renamed Martina Franca.