What is it?
Descrizione
The beating heart of Melpignano is its main square, dedicated to St. George, the patron saint. The center of the community's daily social, commercial and religious life, the square, among the most fascinating in Italy, is enclosed by its namesake porticoes, mute witnesses of centuries of rural life. Erected at the end of the 16th century at the behest of Monsignor Nicola Maiorano, as attested by the epigraph placed to commemorate the restoration in 1694, they were every Saturday the backdrop of one of the most flourishing markets in Salento and still present some original counters for the display of wares. Under the porticoes, referred to in period documents as "seats,'' numerous street merchants from all over the Kingdom worked: from Lecce, Bari and Naples (the latter is credited with the name Napoli Piccinna), who peddled fabrics such as silk, hemp, cotton and wool. But that was not all. The premises below, belonging to members of the historic Durante and Veris families, were rented out and over the years housed a butcher's shop (still there today) and a tailor's shop. The square is dominated by the Mother Church of St. George, the adjoining Chapel of the Assumption and the Bell Tower. Not to be missed is the view from Via Roma at sunset, when the Lecce stone is set on fire and gives the square's elevation an almost surreal atmosphere.
𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐋𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐖
𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐋𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐖
