Cisternino

Cisternino, Puglia (Apulia), Italy

Included among the most beautiful Italian boroughs, this ancient Messapian town with its landscape of whitewashed houses and trulli, amid hills covered with almond trees and with fortified masserie (large farmhouses of the 17th century) here and there, is today mainly an agricultural center, with a rich production of olive oil and grapes, as well as a lively tourist destination.

spazio
spazio
Cisternino coatofarms
Where to stay

4-star Hotels | 3-star Hotels | Bed & Breakfasts |

Info:

Altitude: 392 a.s.l -- Population: ca. 12,000 inhabitants -- Zip/postal code: 72014 -- Phone Area Code: 080 -- Patron Saint: San Quirico and Giuditta celebrated on 4 august -- Frazioni & Località: Caranna, Casalini, Marinelli, Sisto

History

The area was settled already in the Bronze age and later by Messapian peoples, anyway the name seems to come from the Roman Sturnium which was destroyed during the invasions of the Goths, then rebuilt around a Basilian monastery and named Cis-sturnium (wchich in Latin meant "this side of" Sturnium). In the 14th century it was under the Anjeou, then belonged for a time to the Republic of Venice and finally to the Vasto Marquis.

What to see

The ancient church of San Nicola, in the Romanesque style, preserving inside a fine sculpture of the Virgin with Child, a 15th century work of Stefano da Putignano.