Galatina (; ; ), known before the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

as San Pietro in Galatina, is a town and (municipality) in the

Province of Lecce The province of Lecce (; Salentino: ) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecce. The province is called the "Heel of Italy". Located on the Salento peninsula, it is the second most-populous province in Ap ...

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

, southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is situated about south of the city of

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

Main sights

*The late Romanesque church of ''Santa Caterina d'Alessandria'', built in 1390 by Raimondello del Balzo Orsini,

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Soleto Soleto ( Griko: ; Salentino: ; ) is a small Griko-speaking city located in the province of Lecce in Apulia, Italy. The town has a total population of 5,542 and is one of the nine towns of Grecìa Salentina where the Greek dialect Griko is spoke ...

, with a fine portal and rose window. The interior contains frescoes by

Francesco d'Arezzo Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is one of the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation) ...

(1435). The

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

contains the fine

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

of the son of the founder, a canopy supported by four columns, with his statue beneath it. *The Baroque church of San Pietro (also known as Mother Church), rebuilt from 1633 on a previous Greek-rite edifice. *The

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

Chapel. It houses a well which, according to tradition, was able to heal people bitten by poisonous tarantulas (those bitten are called ''tarantati'' or ''pizzicati'' in the local dialect). See also

Tarantism '' Lycosa tarantula'' carrying her offspring Tarantism ( ) is a form of hysteric behaviour originating in Southern Italy, popularly believed to result from the bite of the wolf spider '' Lycosa tarantula'' (distinct from the broad class of sp ...

. *The ''Pupa'', a fountain in local

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

Galatina - Santa Caterina d'Alessandria - 02.jpg, Christ and 12 apostles, on the lintel of the portal of ''Santa Caterina d'Alessandria'' Galatina - Santa Caterina d'Alessandria - 04.jpg, Frescoes depicting New testament scenes, inside ''Santa Caterina d'Alessandria'' Galatina - Santa Caterina d'Alessandria - 05.jpg, Frescoes depicting the Seven Sacraments, on the ceiling of ''Santa Caterina d'Alessandria'' Galatina - Santi Pietro e Paolo.jpg, Portal of ''Galatina - Santi Pietro e Paolo'' Galatina - Palazzo Bardoscia Lubelli Spoti.jpg, Sculpture of an angel on the façade of ''Palazzo Bardoscia Lubelli Spoti'' (18th c.)

Transportation

Galatina has a station on the

Ferrovie Sud-Est Ferrovie del Sud Est (FSE) is a railway company in Apulia region, Italy. The company operates in the ''comuni'' south of Lecce and in the provinces of Bari, Brindisi and Taranto. The company also operates bus lines. In August 2016 its network was ...

line to

. Road connections include the SS16 Adriatica state highway, the SS101 state road, also to Lecce, and the SS 613 Brindisi-Lecce highway.

Energy

Near Galatina is the static inverter plant of

HVDC Italy-Greece A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating current (AC) transmission systems. Most HVDC links use voltages betwe ...

Twin towns

* Novi Grad, Bosnia-Herzegovina, since 1997 *

Sapes Sapes ( or ) is a town and a former municipality in the Rhodope (regional unit), Rhodope regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Maroneia-Sapes, of which it is the seat ...

, Greece, since 1999

Notes

Cities and towns in Apulia Localities of Salento {{Puglia-geo-stub