Soleto – Galatina – Santa Caterina

• Experience Hours: Full day -10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Lunch break) 3:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m;
• Price: 1 to 10 participants: €215.00; 10 to 25 participants: €265.00.

The day will begin with a visit to Soleto, heart of Grecìa Salentina and center of Byzantine culture in Terra d’Otranto.

We will explore the historic centre and its many facets: the spire of Raimondello, a sign of the power of the greatest feudal lord of southern Italy at the end of the 1300s; the legendary figure of Matteo Tafuri, a scientist accused of witchcraft; and the church of Santo Stefano, a treasure chest that acts as a bridge between East and West.

From here, we will move on to the nearby Galatina. The two towns are closely linked under the name of Orsini del Balzo family. We will discover the Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria, an unmatched symbol of Romanesque and Gothic art in the area. Its pictorial cycles are comparable in Italy only to those of the Basilica di San Francesco d’Assisi. After visiting the church with its cloister and small Museo del Tesoro, we will explore the historic center to discover headless knights and tarantism.
After a lunch break, we will move to Santa Caterina and we’ll walk to Torre dell’Alto, one of the most imposing of “Cinta della Luna Crescente”, set as the crown of the Porto Selvaggio Natural Park.