The best walks and hikes around Martignano

Saint Stephen, the patron saint of this church in Soleto, is one of the first seven deacons of the original Jerusalem church and the first martyr (martyr) of early Christianity. The church commemorates him on Boxing Day, December 26th. When Stephen recounted his vision of the open heavens: "But he, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55), the people were so outraged that they drove him out of the city and stoned him.

Beautiful place in Puglia

Included in the Salento Bizantino collection komoot.it/collection/1811756/-salento-bizantino - Normally open even outside the times of worship, it is highly valued and easily usable. It marks the marked passage of iconography and frescoes from the Byzantine to the Latin. https://youtu.be/hMoC4z4T7TU

Included in the collection Salento Bizantino komoot.it/collection/1811756/-salento-bizantino - Church not always accessible, however it is planned to open on pre-established days and times (excluding Saturday and Sunday! unfortunately) I attach the photo with the indicated contact points and opening hours. https://zoomculture.it/santostefanosoleto/

Beautifully frescoed church that can be connected to the church of Santa Caterina di Galatina. Visiting opening hours differ according to the season. For information, refer to the websites dedicated to the Church.

It's a small town of just over seven thousand inhabitants. It belongs, together with the municipalities of Martignano, Sternatia, Zollino, Martano, Castrignano de 'Greci, Corigliano d'Otranto, Soleto and Melpignano, to the so-called area of ​​"Grecìa Salentina", a sub-area of ​​the province of Lecce where remains alive in some traditions the Greek-Byzantine culture spread in Puglia between the sixth and twelfth centuries and in particular the dialect, now considered as a real language, the 'griko'. The name of the town infact comes from 'Kalimera', meaning "good morning" in Greek. After all, the Byzantine influence continued to exist in the religious rite until 1663 and this also allowed the language to be preserved. Moving slightly away from the original route and follow to the right (with the church at your back) along via Montinari, the most important axis of the town, you can reach the small church of S. Antonio and the sider "hospitale" which once welcomed pilgrims and passing people. The road has beautiful courtyards, such as that of S. Calimero and S. Paolo. Some others smaller courtyards are an example of a poor peasant dwelling, equipped with a room in front (the 'sappuèrtu') which served as a tool's shed and animals'shelter.

It's a late Romanesque and Gothic construction, built between 1369 and 1391. The church was enlarged by Count Raimono Orsini del Balzo, while his wife Maria d'Enghien was the promoter of the splendid cycles of frescoes of the interiors (comparable to those of Assisi), for which in the fifteenth century he called the best artists of Naples. From 1494 the building belonged to the Olivetan monks and in 1597 it was entrusted to the Reformed fathers, who erected the new convent. The construction of the four-sided portico on the ground floor, with the convent workshops and the refectory, dates back to this period. Externally, the Romanesque façade is enriched by a finely decorated portal and a rose window that seems to be embroidered in the stone.

The Mother Church has a Latin cross plan and was built in 1689 on the ruins of a Greek rite church. It stands in the main square of the town called "del Sole" and is accompanied by a four-storey bell tower of which the last is octagonal. Particularly valuable are the interiors, as the Renaissance and Baroque altars and beautiful paintings. Noteworthy is the canvas of the 'Madonna della Misericordia', which offers an unprecedented pregnant Madonna. Initially the church had two naves; at the end of the XVII century it was rebuilt with a single nave. Some hatches give access to the underground tombs.