Massafra

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Massafra
No coat of arms available.
Massafra (Italy)
Massafra
Country Italy
region Apulia
province Tarent  (TA)
Coordinates 40 ° 35 ′  N , 17 ° 7 ′  E Coordinates: 40 ° 35 ′ 0 ″  N , 17 ° 7 ′ 0 ″  E
height 110  m slm
surface 125 km²
Residents 32,642 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density 261 inhabitants / km²
Post Code 74016
prefix 099
ISTAT number 073015
Popular name Massafresi
Patron saint SS Madonna della Scala
Website Massafra
Gravina Massafra

Massafra is an Italian commune in the province of Taranto in Apulia . The city is famous for its caves and the frescoed grotto churches ( chiese ipogeiche ), of which over 50 are located in the city.

Location of the municipality of Massafra in the province of Taranto
Massafra Castle

geography

geology

The up to 200 m deep gorges on the terraces of the Murgia , which descends towards the gulf, were created by erosion, since the karst cannot store the rain and forms carts that expanded into gravines and created caves like the Castallana caves .

On the outskirts of Massafra, the 40 m deep and 30 to 50 m wide “Gravina Principale” opens - another four kilometer long gorge. In it lies behind the pilgrimage church “Madonna della Scala”, the oldest church in the area, nestled against the cliff, an extensive area with caves dug into the soft limestone.

local community

Massafra has 32,642 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019). It is 100 m above the Ionian Sea and 18 km northwest of Taranto . The city lies on both sides of the “Gravina di San Marco” gorge. The old and new town are only connected by two bridges.

Neighboring communities

The neighboring municipalities are Crispiano , Martina Franca , Mottola , Palagiano , Statte and Taranto .

The grottoes

investment

Prehistoric finds show that the caves were already used in the Paleolithic . In the early Middle Ages , hermits lived in the gorges around Massafra and hid from persecutors. In the late Middle Ages they served as a refuge from pirates and invaders.

Among the caves, the Grotta del Ciclope (Cave of the Cyclops), the Farmacia del Mago Greguro and the Grotta del frantoio (which occurs several times under this name in Italy) stand out.

Grotto churches

Icon of the Madonna della Scala, Massafra

The monks who lived in the Gravines of Massafra came from the Balkans and Asia Minor in the 8th and 9th centuries . They left their homeland because of the anti-image laws that forbade icon painting . Some prayer cells were extended to three-aisled grotto churches and painted. The frescoes on the cave walls are enlarged motifs of the icons. The former splendor of colors can still be seen in some of the cave churches - sometimes only in fragments. Not only the weather but also vandalism have caused damage here. The Chiesa Ipogeica di S. Posidonio , the Chiesa della Candelora , the Chiesa ed insediamento rupestre di Millarti , the Chiesa rupestre della Buona Nuova and the Chiesa rupestre Madonna della Greca stand out among the 25 interesting cave churches .

Thesaurus Massafrensis

In 1973 a coin hoard was discovered in the Grotta del tesoretto . It contained around 135 small Byzantine and Vandal coins from the end of the 4th to the beginning of the 6th centuries. The Vandal bronze coins were minted under the kings Geiserich , Hunerich , Gunthamund , Thrasamund and Hilderich .

traffic

Massafra has a stop on the Bari – Taranto railway line .

literature

  • Wolfgang Hahn : A mini-find of the early 6th century AD from Massafra near Taranto . In: Litterae Numismaticae Vindobonenses. 3. 1987, pp. 95-116,

Web links

Commons : Massafra  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.