Castellana Grotte

Castellana was founded in the Middle Ages thanks to the colonization made by the Monastery of St. Benedict of Conversano. Its official foundation is dated in December 1171. Thanks to the discovery of the caves, which occurred in 1938 by professor Franco Anelli, the town undergoes a turning tourist.

Castellana Caves are less than 500 meters from the town in Murgia. The sightseeing tour takes two hours and runs for 3 km, between caves and abysses from the mythological and fantastic names. The natural entrance consists of a huge chasm in the open, two hundred feet deep, called the Grave. From Grave to the Black Cave is flowing for the long corridor of the Desert also called Grand Canyon due to a reddish color caused by the presence of iron ore.

Monuments of interest: Church of St. Leo the Great built in 1383. It was built by extending a previous Romanesque church and incorporating a Norman tower defense that became the bell tower. The main facade is dominated by the statue of Leo the Great and was remodeled by some interventions in 1653, that affected the portal and the crucifix above it. On the sides you can see the statues of Leo the Great and John the Baptist.

Local traditions: January 11, the secular appointment with bonfires. 316 years the city of caves recalls the huge stacks of wood the miracle of 1691, when the city of Castellana Grotte was liberated from the plague.