Galatina
Encyclopedia
Galatina known before the unification of Italy as San Pietro in Galatina, is a town and comune
in the Italian province
of Lecce
in Apulia
.
Among the most important cities in Salento
, it is situated some 21 km south of the city of Lecce
.
In the neighbourhood is the small church of St. Paul. It houses a pump which, according to the tradition, was able to heal people bitten by poisonous animals (called tarantati in the local dialect).
. Road connections include the SS16 Adriatica state highway (from Maglie
to Lecce), the SS101 state road, also to Lecce, and the SS 613 Brindisi-Lecce highway.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the Italian province
Provinces of Italy
In Italy, a province is an administrative division of intermediate level between a municipality and a region .-Overview:...
of Lecce
Province of Lecce
The Province of Lecce is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecce. Totally included in the Salento peninsula, it is the second most populous province in Apulia and the twenty-first most populous in Italy....
in Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
.
Among the most important cities in Salento
Salento
Salento is the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the main Italian Peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot"...
, it is situated some 21 km south of the city of Lecce
Lecce
Lecce is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Puglia...
.
Main sights
- The late Romanesque churchRomanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria, built in 1390 by Raimondello del Balzo Orsini, countCountA count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
of SoletoSoletoSoleto is a small Griko-speaking city located in the province of Lecce in Apulia, Italy. The town has a total population of 5,537 and is one of the nine towns of Grecìa Salentina.-History:...
, with a fine portal and rose window. The interior contains frescoes by Francesco d'Arezzo (1435). The apseApseIn architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
contains the fine mausoleumMausoleumA mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
of the son of the founder, a canopy supported by four columns, with his statue beneath it. - The Baroque church of St. Peter (also known as Mother Church), rebuilt from 1633 on a previous Greek-rite edifice.
- The Pupa, a fountain in local limestoneLimestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
In the neighbourhood is the small church of St. Paul. It houses a pump which, according to the tradition, was able to heal people bitten by poisonous animals (called tarantati in the local dialect).
Transportation
Galatina has a station on the Ferrovie Sud-Est line to LecceLecce
Lecce is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Puglia...
. Road connections include the SS16 Adriatica state highway (from Maglie
Maglie
Maglie is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.-History:The Maglie area was settled as early as the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age, and before, as testified by the presence of archaic dolmens and menhirs, and by the Cattìe site, discovered in 1980,...
to Lecce), the SS101 state road, also to Lecce, and the SS 613 Brindisi-Lecce highway.