Casarano, city of artists, scholars and artisans

Founded by the Romans around the 1st century BC, destroyed by the Saracens and rebuilt in the late Middle Ages around the ancient Casaranello, the populous Casarano is one of the most important centers of the lower Salento, both for the history that it jealously guards and for the flourishing economy that has made it for decades one of the most important industrial centers of Puglia, especially in the footwear sector.

Among the monuments to visit, the Church of Santa Maria della Croce (or Casaranello) stands out, full of refined mosaics dating back to a period between the 5th and 13th centuries.

Read: Byzantine Church of Casaranello

Not far from the city center we find the Basilian crypt of the Crucifix or of Santa Costantina. It is a natural hypogeum environment transformed into a place of worship by the Byzantines in the 11th century.

The area surrounding the crypt, in whose vicinity there are still the ruins of the ancient convent that belonged first to the Basilian monks and later to the Olivetans, represents an important prehistoric, historical and naturalistic site. Graffiti from the Paleolithic era and fossils dating back to communities of the Neolithic period coexist with the frescoed walls of the cave.

Among the Byzantine frescoes, we remember the one of the crucified Christ with Saint John the Apostle and Mary of Sorrows and the one depicting Saint Constantina.

The mother church is dedicated to Maria SS. Annunziata. It stands on the foundations of a previous building, dating back to the sixteenth century and of which the characteristic arches remain.

Inside, in the shape of a Latin cross, you can admire numerous paintings including some by Oronzo Tiso from Lecce and Coppola. The high altar is in polychrome marble as is the balustrade. Behind the high altar is the wooden choir from 1700; the balustrade of the choir and the pipe organ are from the same period.

The church of San Domenico is a baroque structure built in the 17th century. It stands on the remains of a pre-existing church, perhaps from the 15th century, and took on its new appearance only in 1738.

Adjacent to the church stands the former Dominican convent, now the town hall, built in the early 17th century.

The church of the Immaculate Conception was rebuilt from scratch in 1743 on the remains of a sixteenth-century structure dedicated to the Virgin of the Annunciation.

It has a sober façade characterised by a small oval window and a portal framed in a cornice and surmounted by an architrave.

The interior, with a single hall, is a treasure chest of valuable works of art. Six canvases by the Salento painter Oronzo Tiso depict episodes from the life of the Virgin: the Presentation of Mary at the Temple, the Annunciation, the visit to Saint Elizabeth, the Purification, the Nativity of Mary and the Assumption.

Adjacent to the church is the monumental Calvary built from 1913 to 1918. In the semicircular wall there are five large niches with the Mysteries of the Passion of Jesus.

The heart of the town is in Piazza Garibaldi, a small square of modest size, rectangular in shape, at the southern end of which you can glimpse the church dedicated to the Santissima Annunziata, while on one of its sides stands out majestic and elegant Palazzo d’Aquino, also known as the Castle. Although it is a civil building, Palazzo d’Aquino was built on the remains of an ancient manor.

Siamo di fronte al più importante edificio residenziale della città, caratterizzato dalle mensole figurate, tutte uniche nello stile e nel disegno.

There are 52 brackets, a long row created for ornamental purposes, but not only, they were supposed to support the balcony of an enormous and sumptuous room, which however was never built. On each bracket there is a different apotropaic mask.

The adjacent square bears the name of the saint guarded on an obelisk. We are in Piazza San Giovanni, and we observe the column of San Giovanni Elemosiniere, Patron Saint of Casarano. Restored a few years ago and visible right in the center of Piazza San Giovanni

Not far away is the Clock Tower, made of local carparo, or tuff.