- Daniela Lovece
- Luoghi di culto
The church of San Bartolomeo di Padula
Located in the district of Chiesa Nuova, San Bartolomeo de Palude or di Padula is a rural little church that is worth a visit - you can reach it from the provincial road 114 Monopoli-Conversano. This is an unusual building, which dates back to the period between the 8th and 10th centuries. The first paper trail about the existence of the church dates back to 1180, that is a papal bull sent from pope Alexander III to the bishop of Monopoli Stephan. In this document the pope listed the churches which were under the jurisdiction of the bishop Stephan. Three churches of the locality called “de Palude” were mentioned, including San Bartolomeo.
San Bartolomeo di Padula is located on the edge of a slope and its longitudinal axis is oriented in northwest-southeast direction. This church has two apses and its quadrangular base is five metres by five. The upper dome is connected to the base of the building through four pendentives. On the side walls some traces of four small older niches are still visible: two of them are located near the entrance and the others close to the apses. Four small gaps are placed 4 metres and a half from the floor level and in correspondence with the two main axes – they served to enlighten the church. The planking level of the church is lower than the height of the surrounding land. The exterior consists of two overlapping parallelepipeds, both with quadrangular base. Three sides of the upper parallelepiped move back in respect of the lower one; the two parallelepipeds only line up on the side of the entrance.
Since 1992 this little church, which was in a state of deplorable abandon, has been restored thanks to the organization of Castellana called Ce.Ri.Ca. To date, San Bartolomeo di Padula and its surrounding field belong to the public heritage of Castellana-Grotte.
Every year, in the afternoon of August 24 – day devoted to Saint Bartholomew – a Holy Mass is celebrated outdoor, thanks to the interest of Ce.Ri.Ca.