Ceramics tradition in Grottaglie
Description
Grottaglie is one of the most important town of ceramics in Italy: in the ceramics quarter, where artisanal pottery has been made since the Middle Ages, there are about 50 workshops where it possible to admire and buy the most traditonal ceramics as well as the contemporary design ones. The Bishop’s castle guests the Museum of Ceramics with about 400 handmade products ranging from the 8th century B.C. to the present day and exposed in 5 thematic sections: traditional ceramics for domestic use, archaeological, majolica, contemporary, crèche). In the old town it’s possible to visit the Mother Church (an interesting example of late Romanesque style), the Church of Carmine with some crèche figures carved in the soft stone of Lecce by the famous renaissance sculptor Stefano da Putignano. In the outskirts there is the Church of convent of St. Francis from Paola with a majolica floor, the santuary of the Madonna di Mutata. The countryside of Grottaglie is rich of canyons and natural caves poulated since the prehistoric times: at the Riggio Gorge is possible to admire a rupestrian settlement.
Some idea for changes to the itinerary
The suggested duration of the tour is 3/4 hours. It’s also possible to extend / modify the tour with a lunch / dinner in a typical restaurant; a cooking lesson ; a wine, extravirgin olive oil, cheese tasting; a visit to Francavilla Fontana (with its Imperiali Palace, a tradional sweets workshop to taste the Mandorla Riccia), Manduria with the Messapian (a pre-Roman population) archeological site and the Primitivo wineries, the medieval hamlet of Oria, the city center of Mesagne (with it’s swabian castle), Ostuni (the white city up on the hill overlooking the seaside), Ceglie Messapica (the temple of apulian cuisine with a castle and a picturesque city center), Taranto (with the old town, the Dric Temple, the National Archeological Museum, the Aragonese Castle), Brindisi (the gate to Orient), Martina Franca (with its baroque palaces), Monk’s salt marsh with pink flamingos, a century old olive grove, etc.