Orsara di Puglia, città di Orse e di Spiriti

Dario Melissano 13 November 2022

The origins of the town and its name are lost in the mists of time. Various legends trace the foundation of Orsara back to Greek mythological heroes, although some findings attest that already in the 11th century BC the area of Orsara was inhabited by populations close to the Osci and the Irpini. As for the name of the town, it is traced back to a den with a bear and her cubs. In fact, the heraldic coat of arms of the Municipality is a rampant bear with a teddy bear near an oak tree.

Moreover, the town stands on a sandstone hill with many natural caves, which could have served as shelter for bears and other animals, as well as for prehistoric man.

Orsara entered the great history with the Second Punic War, it seems in fact that both the Carthaginians of Hannibal and the Roman soldiers of Quintus Fabius Maximus, the Procrastinator, passed through.

In the Middle Ages, history touches Orsara in 546 AD, during the Gothic-Byzantine war (535-553), when the Goths of Totila and the Byzantines clashed in the Cervaro valley.

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Among the most interesting monuments, the complex of Santa Maria dell’Annunziata stands out. It is a former abbey located on a high cliff adjacent to the cave of San Michele.

Even in Orsara, as in many other Apulian cities, one can admire the chthonic devotion to San Michele.

The Orsara cave, which is partly natural and partly dug into the rock, is accessed by a winding staircase, also dug into the rock, called the Scala Santa, with two openings with a pointed arch at the external entrance.

The interior, with a single and irregular nave, with a barrel vault in natural rock and, on the sides of the altar, a niche that for the Feast of San Michele houses the beautiful statue of the Archangel, with his sword unsheathed. The cave was incorporated in 1643 into the vestibule church of San Pellegrino, a saint who according to legend stayed in Orsara and of which the relic of the saint's right thumb was once kept: destroyed by an earthquake, the church of San Pellegrino was rebuilt in neo-Gothic style in 1935.

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What makes Orsara di Puglia a unique city in the world is the event that takes place every year on the night of November 1st. One day after Halloween and coinciding with the real night of the dead, that is at midnight between November 1st and 2nd, a shivering party takes place. Called in the local dialect Fucacoste and Cocce Priatorje, it is a true re-enactment of the dead, with bonfires and pumpkins that evoke Celtic traditions that mysteriously reappeared in this location while elsewhere they were disappearing.

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Leggi: Fucacoste, la festa celtica che inventa l'Halloween

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Orsara di Puglia, city of Bears and Spirits

Moreover, the town stands on a sandstone hill with many natural caves, which could have served as shelter for bears and other animals, as well as for prehistoric man.

Among the most interesting monuments, the complex of Santa Maria dell’Annunziata stands out. It is a former abbey located on a high cliff adjacent to the cave of San Michele.

Written by Dario Melissano

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Orsara di Puglia, city of Bears and Spirits

Moreover, the town stands on a sandstone hill with many natural caves, which could have served as shelter for bears and other animals, as well as for prehistoric man.

Among the most interesting monuments, the complex of Santa Maria dell’Annunziata stands out. It is a former abbey located on a high cliff adjacent to the cave of San Michele.

Written by Dario Melissano

Leave a comment Cancel reply

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