The best cycling routes around Massafra

beautiful road inside the Pianelle forest

Starting point for hikes in the Pianelle forest. There's a small bar. There's a sign near the fountain: non-potable water. But we always drank it.

Splendid farmhouse located on a hill from which you can admire the valley below all the way to the sea

The patronage of "Our Lady of the Snows" – which, in my experience, is not all that common – indicates that this church was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, but not, as is usually the case, associated with one of her classic feast days (e.g., the Name of Mary, the Nativity, the Assumption, or as Queen of the Rosary). Rather, the search for the origin of "Our Lady of the Snows" leads us far back in church history to the fourth or fifth century, and geographically north to the Italian capital. On August 5, 363, at the site where the magnificent church of Santa Maria Maggiore stands today, the so-called "Miracle of the Snows" occurred. That is, on that day, in the middle of summer, snow lay on the ground in the morning because Our Lady wanted a church dedicated to her to be built on that spot. She communicated this wish in a nighttime vision to a wealthy couple – who financed the construction – and to the Bishop of Rome, Pope Liberius. The Roman church has the rank of a patriarchal basilica (papal basilica), and is the origin of all churches and chapels bearing this patronage. In the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church, the date of August 5, the day of the church's consecration (in the year 432 by Pope Sixtus III), is a "non-obligatory memorial."

The Castle of Massafra, located in the historic center of Massafra, is a medieval castle overlooking the Pizzo Ravine and San Marco. Its structure and architectural motifs are similar to other castles in Apulia, with four towers arranged in a wishbone and pattern and linked by boundary walls. The oldest towers are circular, while the keep is octagonal in the southeast. The first definite record of the castle dates back to the year 970. With the domination of the Angevins, the castle took on the appearance of a fortress, with crenellated ramparts and towers. It underwent further transformations under the Aragonese, and in the 18th century the Imperial family rebuilt the octagonal tower and the front facing towards the ravine, designed by the architect Mauro Manieri Lecce. The castle was in the possession of many owners before eventually being purchased by the city.

The church of Santa Maria, or church of Sant'Angelo, but for all the Crispianesi “Chiesa Vecchia”, dates back to the 16th century, but was presumably built on the ruins of a pre-existing church. It is located near the Grotte del Vallone, in the center of the medieval hamlet of Crispiano. In Ionic-Romanesque style, the church became the first parish of Crispiano. Inside it contained many frescoes that unfortunately time and neglect have almost completely erased.

From this spectacular observation point, on clear days it is possible to admire the entire Ionian arch and the mountains of Calabria.

Crispiano rises around the karst furrow called Vallone Lezzitello (small holm oak), inhabited since prehistoric times, which in the Middle Ages was the seat of the Casale Crispiani and the Abbey of Santa Maria di Crispiano.