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Chiesa di Santa Maria della Strada (en)
Route: Paduli
Chiesa di Santa Maria della Strada (en)


The façade of the church is characterized by a portal framed between two columns surmounted by capitals, which support two squatting animals, a lion and a bull, from which are grafted cusps creating a kind of portico. The portal consists of three carved concentric bands, interlacing the geometric and plant motifs, which enclose the architrave where the Annunciation is represented: the scene is framed between two columns where two rampant birds (peacocks), archangel Gabriele (left) and the figure of the Virgin seated on a throne (right) are juxtaposed; the angelic salutation is engraved in Greek between the figures. At the center, the rose window has three carved concentric crowns. The inner band is made with intertwining plants, among which you can see small figures of animals, the middle with acanthus leaves, like the portal, is interspaced with small busts of figures representing the Savior and the Apostles, while the outer band is decorated with a geometric pattern. Crowning the whole church and running along the perimeters is a decoration of hanging arches. On the southern side of the church, below the eighteenth century bell tower, is a Byzantine sundial, dating back to the fourteenth century, with the hours indicated in Greek and in Latin. The interior, having a single nave, presents the chapel of the Annunciation on the northern side, accompanied by frescoes of the sixteenth century. In the small area, an image of St. Nicholas of Bari on the right pillar of the arc is painted while on the left pillar is St. Antonio Abate. The central part is from the scene of Christ on the cross, represented between two angels, surrounded by, further down, the figures of the praying Mary and St. Leonard of Noblac. The left wall contains the scene of the Annunciation where an inscription of graffiti can be read: YEAR D (OMINI) 1538 / EGO ANGE. On the right wall, however, the figure of the Virgin Mary of Constantinople is painted. In the eighteenth century, the construction of a new building leaning against the north side of the fourteenth-century church, involved a radical change in the liturgical orientation of the edifice with the construction of the new main altar near the southern wall. Inside the church are paintings such as: Saint Lucia (1716), Santa Maria Maggiore and San Carlo Borromeo (18th century), Miracle of Madonna della Strada (1866) by Francesco Tempesta; and some statues: St. Joseph, Our Lady of Sorrows, Madonna della Strada (papier mâché). In the square outside the church, on September 7, 2002, the votive column surmounted by the statue of Santa Maria della Strada was inaugurated.
Corso Umberto I, 17, Taurisano

current use:
The church regularly carries out religious ceremonies. A mass is held every day and meetings are organized with various people and with a lot of participation.

bibliography sources:
AA.VV., Santa Maria della Strada. Sulle Tracce della Memoria: Rito, Credenza e Tradizioni, Atti del Convegno di Studi a cura di Antonio Ciurlia, Taurisano, settembre 1999, Associazione Culturale Odigitria, 2000. AA.VV., S. Maria della Strada in Taurisano: un esempio dell'architettura romanico-pugliese in Terra d'Otranto dei secc. XIII-XIV, A.C.O., 2001. P. Arthur., B. Bruno, M. Limoncelli, "Notizie scavi Taurisano, Santa Maria della Strada, 2004", Archeologia Medievale XXXI, 2004, pp. 345-346. P. Arthur. G. Gravili, M. Limoncelli, B. Bruno, M.Leo Imperiale, G. Sarcinelli, "La chiesa di Santa Maria della Strada, Taurisano (Lecce). Scavi 2004", Archeologia Medievale XXXII, 2005, pp. 173-205. Mario Cazzato - Aldo de Bernart (a cura di), Architettura Medievale in Puglia. S. Maria della Strada a Taurisano, Galatina, 1992. S. Cortese, Santa Maria della Strada dal XIII al XVI secolo, in I Bizantini del XXI secolo, Atti dei Convegni di Studi nel Salento meridionale, Tiggiano 20 gennaio – Corsano 1 febbraio – Taurisano 20 aprile – Ruffano 23 aprile 2013 a cura di S. Tanisi, Ugento 2013, pp. 93-99. M. Pasquale, La facciata di Santa Maria della Strada a Taurisano in Terra d’Otranto, in I Bizantini del XXI secolo, Atti dei Convegni di Studi nel Salento meridionale, Tiggiano 20 gennaio – Corsano 1 febbraio – Taurisano 20 aprile – Ruffano 23 aprile 2013 a cura di S. Tanisi, Ugento 2013, pp. 59 -92. S. Rocca, L’affresco dell’Annunciazione e il culto del Sacro Cordone in Santa Maria della Strada in Taurisano, in I Bizantini del XXI secolo, Atti dei Convegni di Studi nel Salento meridionale, Tiggiano 20 gennaio – Corsano 1 febbraio – Taurisano 20 aprile – Ruffano 23 aprile 2013 a cura di S. Tanisi, Ugento 2013, pp. 109 -122.  S. Tanisi, Saverio Lillo e il dipinto della Madonna della Strada di Taurisano, in I Bizantini del XXI secolo, Atti dei Convegni di Studi nel Salento meridionale, Tiggiano 20 gennaio – Corsano 1 febbraio – Taurisano 20 aprile – Ruffano 23 aprile 2013 a cura di S. Tanisi, Ugento 2013, pp. 101 -108. Imago (a cura di), La Madonna della Strada in Taurisano, Emeroteca Digitale Salentina, Lecce.

historical information:
The church of Santa Maria della Strada was built between the mid-thirteenth and early fourteenth century. In Romanesque-Pugliese style, it is the result of a volumetric-spatial evolution that lasted until the twentieth century. The original structure consisted of a single rectangular nave with a truss roof, then replaced in the eighteenth century by a star vaulted roof. In the sixteenth century, the church was merged, on the north side, the chapel of the Annunciation. In the eighteenth century, a new building was built, always along the north side, covered by a ribbed vault. In the course of the twentieth century, a structure was built designated for the sacristy. The archaeological excavations inside the church revealed the existence of numerous tombs, cut into the rock bank, attesting the funerary function of the church during the middle ages. There are two legends regarding the construction of the church "Santa Maria della Strada" of Taurisano. The church, according to one of the legends, was built by a merchant of precious objects who, while passing through a thick forest, was attacked by robbers. Then, invoked by the merchant, the Virgin Mary appeared and the criminals fled in the forest; to honor the miracle, the merchant had erected on the site of apparition, a chapel girded with a silk and gold cord, made by the fusion of precious objects he was carrying. Subsequently, the cord was replaced with another but in silk and silver, and finally with red wax (early 18th century). The second legend recounts that in the late middle ages, invoked by the people, the Virgin appeared and saved the small community of Taurisano from a terrible plague. Also in this case, a chapel was built which was donned with a golden cord and later replaced by one of silver, and finally one of wax. According to ecclesiastical sources, from the early eighteenth century, the morning of the 8th of September each year, the feast of Santa Maria della Strada, the people of Taurisano carried in procession a cord of red wax from the mother church to the church of Santa Maria della Strada . Upon arriving at the latter, they would surround the building with the cord that remained attached to the perimeter walls until the day of the feast in the following year. This rite, went into disuse in the seventies of the last century, was resumed in 1999 with a cord of wax. On the 8th of September 2004, the Solemnity of Santa Maria della Strada, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, the church was elevated to the rank of Santuario Mariano Diocesano.
Info
property:
Municipal
managing body:
Comune di Taurisano
contact person:
Comune di Taurisano
opening hours:
Open
accessibility:
Accessible
current use:
The church regularly carries out religious ceremonies. A mass is held every day and meetings are organized with various people and with a lot of participation.
conservation:
Good
period of construction:
second half XIII - early XIV century
local name:
Chiesa di Santa Maria della Strada
origin of place-name:
The church’s name came from the fact that the edifice was an important station for repose of the pilgrims who, through Via Misteriosa o della Perdonanza, starting from the north of Apulia, went to the Sanctuary of Leuca.
historical information:
The church of Santa Maria della Strada was built between the mid-thirteenth and early fourteenth century. In Romanesque-Pugliese style, it is the result of a volumetric-spatial evolution that lasted until the twentieth century. The original structure consisted of a single rectangular nave with a truss roof, then replaced in the eighteenth century by a star vaulted roof. In the sixteenth century, the church was merged, on the north side, the chapel of the Annunciation. In the eighteenth century, a new building was built, always along the north side, covered by a ribbed vault. In the course of the twentieth century, a structure was built designated for the sacristy. The archaeological excavations inside the church revealed the existence of numerous tombs, cut into the rock bank, attesting the funerary function of the church during the middle ages. There are two legends regarding the construction of the church "Santa Maria della Strada" of Taurisano. The church, according to one of the legends, was built by a merchant of precious objects who, while passing through a thick forest, was attacked by robbers. Then, invoked by the merchant, the Virgin Mary appeared and the criminals fled in the forest; to honor the miracle, the merchant had erected on the site of apparition, a chapel girded with a silk and gold cord, made by the fusion of precious objects he was carrying. Subsequently, the cord was replaced with another but in silk and silver, and finally with red wax (early 18th century). The second legend recounts that in the late middle ages, invoked by the people, the Virgin appeared and saved the small community of Taurisano from a terrible plague. Also in this case, a chapel was built which was donned with a golden cord and later replaced by one of silver, and finally one of wax. According to ecclesiastical sources, from the early eighteenth century, the morning of the 8th of September each year, the feast of Santa Maria della Strada, the people of Taurisano carried in procession a cord of red wax from the mother church to the church of Santa Maria della Strada . Upon arriving at the latter, they would surround the building with the cord that remained attached to the perimeter walls until the day of the feast in the following year. This rite, went into disuse in the seventies of the last century, was resumed in 1999 with a cord of wax. On the 8th of September 2004, the Solemnity of Santa Maria della Strada, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, the church was elevated to the rank of Santuario Mariano Diocesano.
virtual tour:
Chiesa di Santa Maria della Strada
bibliography sources:
AA.VV., Santa Maria della Strada. Sulle Tracce della Memoria: Rito, Credenza e Tradizioni, Atti del Convegno di Studi a cura di Antonio Ciurlia, Taurisano, settembre 1999, Associazione Culturale Odigitria, 2000. AA.VV., S. Maria della Strada in Taurisano: un esempio dell'architettura romanico-pugliese in Terra d'Otranto dei secc. XIII-XIV, A.C.O., 2001. P. Arthur., B. Bruno, M. Limoncelli, "Notizie scavi Taurisano, Santa Maria della Strada, 2004", Archeologia Medievale XXXI, 2004, pp. 345-346. P. Arthur. G. Gravili, M. Limoncelli, B. Bruno, M.Leo Imperiale, G. Sarcinelli, "La chiesa di Santa Maria della Strada, Taurisano (Lecce). Scavi 2004", Archeologia Medievale XXXII, 2005, pp. 173-205. Mario Cazzato - Aldo de Bernart (a cura di), Architettura Medievale in Puglia. S. Maria della Strada a Taurisano, Galatina, 1992. S. Cortese, Santa Maria della Strada dal XIII al XVI secolo, in I Bizantini del XXI secolo, Atti dei Convegni di Studi nel Salento meridionale, Tiggiano 20 gennaio – Corsano 1 febbraio – Taurisano 20 aprile – Ruffano 23 aprile 2013 a cura di S. Tanisi, Ugento 2013, pp. 93-99. M. Pasquale, La facciata di Santa Maria della Strada a Taurisano in Terra d’Otranto, in I Bizantini del XXI secolo, Atti dei Convegni di Studi nel Salento meridionale, Tiggiano 20 gennaio – Corsano 1 febbraio – Taurisano 20 aprile – Ruffano 23 aprile 2013 a cura di S. Tanisi, Ugento 2013, pp. 59 -92. S. Rocca, L’affresco dell’Annunciazione e il culto del Sacro Cordone in Santa Maria della Strada in Taurisano, in I Bizantini del XXI secolo, Atti dei Convegni di Studi nel Salento meridionale, Tiggiano 20 gennaio – Corsano 1 febbraio – Taurisano 20 aprile – Ruffano 23 aprile 2013 a cura di S. Tanisi, Ugento 2013, pp. 109 -122.  S. Tanisi, Saverio Lillo e il dipinto della Madonna della Strada di Taurisano, in I Bizantini del XXI secolo, Atti dei Convegni di Studi nel Salento meridionale, Tiggiano 20 gennaio – Corsano 1 febbraio – Taurisano 20 aprile – Ruffano 23 aprile 2013 a cura di S. Tanisi, Ugento 2013, pp. 101 -108. Imago (a cura di), La Madonna della Strada in Taurisano, Emeroteca Digitale Salentina, Lecce.
telephone number:
0833625900
num gps:
26
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