The best traffic-free bike rides around Villa Castelli

Short climb with approx. 8% max. Once at the top, you are rewarded with a great view.

A pleasant and challenging climb, with a quiet start, followed by a fairly regular section at 10% and then an easier section to the summit. Good road surface and pleasant route among the poplars.

A small town that can be reached in less than an hour; excellent for a stopover during a journey.

Locorotondo is a characteristic Apulian village located in the Itria Valley, with a circular layout, known for its “cummerse”, typical houses with sloping roofs.

Built in 1938 and erected in 1958, the Parish of San Michele Arcangelo is located in the small village of San Simone (Crispiano-TA). Behind it we find the chapel dedicated to Maria SS.ma del Carmelo built in 1649, as can be seen from the date engraved on the entrance architrave, together with the coat of arms IHS, Iesus Hominum Salvator, Jesus Savior of men. In ancient times it was dedicated to San Filippo Neri, depicted in the apse of the same chapel, next to the Virgin, to the right of the observer, because the entire farmhouse belonged to the homonymous farm, bordering the church. This farm was later called San Simini and still retains this name today. Due to its position in relation to the cow cart, the chapel suggests that in its time it served as a stop and reference point in the transhumance from the Murge towards Salento. The chapel consists of a single small room with barrel vaults and inside there are frescoes: the Virgin of Carmel with Child, on the left St. Thomas the Apostle and St. Michael the Archangel and St. Martin of Tours, on the right St. Philip Neri and St. Simon the Apostle. Above the entrance door stands a beautiful bell tower with a 19th-century bell.

The Sanctuary of the Madonna Mutata of Grottaglie stands on land where there was a church dating back to the 10th century, on the border between Martina Franca and Grottaglie. According to tradition, the current dedication to the Virgin Mutata is subsequent to the miracle that occurred in 1359. Inside the 10th century church there was an image depicting the Madonna, placed on the wall facing south, that is, in the direction of Martina Franca, which therefore claimed ownership. By miracle the image was found on the north wall, confirming once and for all that it belonged to the city of Grottaglie.

"The Bucito Cave", in Grottaglie I'll make a very brief introduction: generally the manifestations of worship in caves, here, refer to what is the devotion for the Archangel Michael (quis ut Deus). And we owe this to the Lombards who made him their national saint. I would not leave out, however, the Byzantines of Puglia among whom this saint enjoyed enormous popularity. "The Grottaglie area, like other places in the area, has been inhabited by man since the most remote times. In fact, in some districts (Bucito, Coluccio and Lonoce) roughly worked stone tools, splinters and processing residues have been found, belonging to the Paleolithic, that is, to the period of the Ancient Stone. The Buccito Cave (or Coluccio), near Grottaglie, is located at an important road junction, closely connected to the Tratturo Martinese. These are the oldest signs of the presence of man in our territory. In the Neolithic Age (from the mid-5th to the first centuries of the 4th millennium BC) the first agricultural villages began to emerge (Bucito and Caprarica). Caves and natural caverns were then used in all phases of the Bronze and Iron Ages, especially in the villages of Riggio, Lonoce, Fullonese and Pensieri. In the last period of the Bronze Age, the agricultural economy took over from pastoralism, so the ravines were gradually abandoned to form small urban-type settlements. This process was however stifled with the foundation of Taranto by Spartan colonists (towards the end of the 8th century BC)” (From metropolis.it) Why is it called that? The cave takes its name from the Greek term βοῦς, βοός- bus,- or “ox” and οἰκία or “house, shelter, dwelling” and therefore, originally, indicated a place of shelter for these animals. The Greek etymology is evidence of both Magna Graecia, of Byzantine d+-++-homination and of the subsequent presence of the Basilian monks in our territory For some years, in this cave, the mass of December 24th was celebrated. Suggestive! A custom that would be nice to resume, both for our religion and for our traditions.

The Cave is part of the Gravine di Grottaglie and is located in the Terra delle Gravine Regional Park. The Bucito cave (also known as the Coluccio cave) is located in an important road junction, closely connected to the Tratturo Martinese, an ancient primary communication route until the 19th century in Puglia. On a boulder adjacent to the cave there are two statuettes, one of Padre Pio da Pietrelcina and one of Jesus Christ. Until a few years ago, in the Bucito cave, on the night of December 25, the inhabitants of Grottaglie and the surrounding area flocked there for the Christmas vigil and for the celebration of the Midnight Christmas Mass.