Municipio Comune di Locorotondo

Locorotondo is an Italian town of 14,214 inhabitants in the metropolitan city of Bari, in Puglia. It is a beautiful town that is part of the "The most beautiful villages in Italy". The historic center, with its white houses and balconies decorated with plants and flowers, makes this village a place visited by tourists from all over the world. Thanks also to its very attentive administrators, it is a very clean, very welcoming and quiet town. Those who have not yet done so, and are a lover of beauty, cannot fail to visit Locorotondo

Beautiful country, part of the Valle d'Itria. The historic center is characterized by characteristic alleys, made even more beautiful by the inhabitants who take care of the colorful plants and balconies: the unique feature is the sloping roofs called "cummerse". In summer there is an international music festival, the "LOCUS FESTIVAL", which attracts many young people, In summary it is one of the most beautiful villages in Italy.

I came here to Locorotondo to visit live the beautiful old town decorated with Christmas decorations as I saw on Facebook but after having traveled almost a kilometer on foot because there was no parking near the center, we went to visit the living crib . But here it was no longer possible to follow a path that would lead us to the desired destination, indeed we found ourselves in a traffic jam of people who were nervous about the chaotic and little or better path, not at all viable. I ask you the courtesy to organize you better in the coming years, if anything with well marked paths and possibly managed by a security service because the people were great but security was not at home. Doing so many kilometers and then being disappointed in my expectations seems to me a pity, it takes little to better organize certain situations.

A wonderful village ... clean and welcoming. White ... everything is very white. Small streets and alleys that leave you breathless.

Superb town perched on a hill where it is possible to admire the whole Valle D'Itria from its terraces. The name recalls the characteristic shape of the historic center, a set of small white houses arranged in concentric rings. It seems that the first settlement dates back to the year 1000. The area is famous for the production of wines of controlled origin, unfortunately in recent years many vineyards have been explanted. If you happen to be in these parts, remember to stop in the butchers in the historic center where, in addition to buying good meat, you can enjoy their specialties, cooked meats (mixed grill) and stuffed sheep interior rolls, seated comfortably at the table. For lovers of the films of the past, I point out that this town has been the set of some films: Casanova 70; Stardust; That's life; My brother-in-law; the bands, kiss me baby. I recommend a tour in the historic center to immerse yourself in huts piled side by side, on top of each other, painted in lime and with red flowers at the window. Show.

Even a short visit to the historic center of Locorotondo is enough to understand why the Apulian town was admitted to be part of the club "The most beautiful villages in Italy", wanted by the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) with the aim to enhance the historical, artistic, cultural and environmental heritage of small towns. "U Curdùnne" (this is the name of Locorotondo in the local dialect) certainly deserves such a prestigious recognition not so much, perhaps, for the presence of particularly significant monuments under the architectural or historical aspect, as for the well-kept ensemble of the small streets arranged in a circle around the Mother Church, for the white of the houses that dominates over every other color and for the orderly grace with which it presents itself to the visitor. First of all, one detail of the houses is striking: the unusual pointed roofs (the "cummerse") that cover almost all the houses in the historic center, creating a curious resemblance to the houses of northern Europe. You can start visiting the city from Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, where the remains of one of the access gates to the city are still visible when the walls still existed. In front of the square there is access to the municipal Villa, named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, obtained in the mid-nineteenth century from the arrangement of a hill in the ancient garden called Mondezzaio dei tre Olmi. The Villa, in addition to being a pleasant place for meetings and walks, is also a magnificent panoramic terrace overlooking the Itria Valley. Continuing from piazza Vittorio Emanuele II to via Antonio Bruno, you reach the old municipal building, currently used as a civic library. Built in the early eighteenth century, the building is dominated by a small tower, erected in the early nineteenth century to place the clock from the bell tower of the ancient Mother Church. Next to the civic library stands the splendid Palazzo Morelli. The elaborate workmanship of the portal and the wrought iron railings of the balconies stand out on the magnificent Baroque facade of the early eighteenth century. You go around the library building and you reach the Mother Church, a monumental building dedicated to St. George martyr (patron of the city), built between the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century on the area where they were already in the past fate churches, always dedicated to St. George, subsequently demolished to make way for new buildings. The appearance of the building is certainly grandiose and deserves the nickname of the Mother Church with which it is called by the locals. The interior is in Baroque style, as most of the decorations come from the previous church, as well as part of the paintings and some frescoes. To the left of the Mother Church is the Annunziata church, also built in the early nineteenth century on the site of a previous sacred building of the seventeenth century. The current building incorporates some walls at the rear which are all that remains of the ancient hospital built in the mid-sixteenth century. The most important church of Locorotondo, however, is located on the edge of the circular wall that delimits the historic center: the church of the Madonna della Greca, certainly prior to the sixteenth century, although the date of construction remains uncertain. The building has three naves, with columns full of different ornaments, from flowers to animals to human faces, and with a great variety of sculptural works, in particular a splendid bas-relief of the Deposition in the Sepulcher. Going back to via Nardelli, which completes the circular perimeter of the historic center and which the locals ironically call the "Lungomare", you return to the municipal Villa. In a city that is part of the "most beautiful villages in Italy", the gastronomic tradition is expected to live up to the beauty of the place. Also in this respect Locorotondo does not disappoint at all. Must try the focaccia stuffed with onion and pasta with cod sauce or chickpeas.