Chiesa Rettoria Madonna della Greca

A beautiful church with a Romanesque imprint with many parts redone but which manages to preserve its medieval charm.

The splendid little church of the Madonna Greca is a small pearl on the edge of the beautiful historic center of Locorotondo. After visiting the beautiful cummerse, you can't miss the little church. You will be surprised by the peace and silence within it. Absolutely go there! #locorotondo #cummerse #localguidesconnect #localguide #letsguide #ongooglemaps

The Madonna della Greca is located in the ancient center of Locorotondo. The facade is very simple. According to me it is very beautiful. For some it may be a bit bare, but charming with a rose window that is a stone embroidery on its own.

Very beautiful church, located on the edge of the historic center of Locorotondo. It differs from the buildings in the center as these are plastered in white while the church is of the gray color given by the stone with which it is built. Inside there is a fine altar and a magnificent St. George carved in the same gray stone. Admission is free.

Church of the Madonna della Greca is the oldest church in Locorotondo built twice. The first building dates back to the 7th-8th century, while the current one is from the 15th century. The latter was commissioned in 1480 by Pirro Orsini del Balzo, prince of Taranto, on a visit to Locorotondo. It was decided to build it on the site where a cave with an image of the Madonna already existed and still today we can see traces of the primitive structure incorporated in the fifteenth-century one. The church is far from the building just enough to give it a touch of uniqueness, with its sloping roof and the nakedness of the walls just moved by the statues of St. Peter and St. Paul, hoisted at the corners. The rose window of the façade, pierced with lightness and finesse, is the work, of the twentieth century, by Domenico Rosato, who wanted to echo the model of the cathedral of Acquaviva delle Fonti. Inside, the architectural members of the pointed cross vaults and the rampant half-barrels on both sides of the central nave stand out. A series of strange characters, fantastic beings (mermaids, bird bodies with human faces) and animals accompany the bases or the tips of the polystyle pillars, including shells, cherubs and flowers. The varied pictorial and sculptural equipment derives from alterations and re-uses that have characterized the history of this delightful building: already the bas-reliefs placed on the left wall of the entrance, with scenes from the Life of Christ, denounce renovations and relocations. And in any case, although the first reference ascertained by documentary sources dates back to 1520, it is likely that even earlier, in medieval times, a Christian temple should have been built here (perhaps rotated 90 degrees compared to today's alignment). Thus, the fresco of a Madonna can be glimpsed on a wall section of the central nave. But it is the sculptural apparatus, mainly Renaissance, which marks the beauty of this church: the polyptych of the central altar stands out above all, bearing the Virgin with the Child Jesus which is flanked by the niches with Saint Lucia, Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Sant'Oronzo, below four bas-reliefs with the Evangelists and a tympanum with the Eternal Father. Not far away, in the room that once served as a choir, you can admire a splendid bas-relief that reproduces a Deposition in the Sepulcher with delicate expressiveness. The niche at the end of the left aisle houses a group with St. George killing the dragon, dating back to the mid-16th century: the sculpture was brought here (together with the statue of the Madonna delle Grazie located in the right aisle) from the old mother church. Not far away is the large statue of a Renaissance lord, a noble represented in an act of prayer.

The most evocative, dating back to the end of the 15th century, with its stone works and the extraordinary renovations of the past decades such as the large rose window. To visit and contemplate its beauty.