CERRATE – Party on April 25th in Cerrate, for hundreds of Apulian and foreign tourists. Many attended the Mass inside the ancient Abbey located on the road that connects Lecce to the Casalabate marina, and which, dedicated to Santa Maria, constitutes a wonderful example of Romanesque Otranto style. Together with many others, they then wandered among the small stands of the te lu Panieri Fair, which has its roots in the distant Middle Ages.
On display with master craftsmen from every corner of Salento, the typical wicker baskets and chair weavers, ceramic artefacts and fabrics worked on the bobbin and loom, but also seasonal plants and flowers, gastronomy and wines from the territory.
The day organized by the FAI Delegation of Lecce chaired by Donna Adriana Greco Bozzi Colonna, will be repeated on Friday 26th.
Built in the 12th century by will of the Count of Lecce, Tancredi d’Altavilla, the Abbey of Santa Maria di Cerrate, formerly a Byzantine monastery, is owned by the Province of Lecce, and since 2012, with the restoration work completed, with a specific tender public, was assigned for thirty-year management to Fai, the Italian Environment Fund.
According to legend, the name Cerrate, once also Cervate, is due to the appearance of the Madonna’s face between the antlers of a deer to Count Tancredi during a hunting trip.
Inside and in the adjacent Masseria, the Abbey preserves frescoes of great beauty and elegance, while on the side of the Cloister supported by columns in Lecce stone surmounted by capitals different from each other, a beautiful canopy well stands out.
