• TARANTO
• GROTTAGLIE
• PULSANO
• GINOSA

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The Ancient Heart of Magna Greece

In the vivid glimpse of Magna Graecia, traditional architecture yields to the dreamlike impact of rock-hewn churches, in a route that exudes grandeur, both for the solemn, solitary ruins of Greek civilisation and for the beauty of a nature imbued with light.

The slow pace of the 'perduni' of TARANTO and PULSANO accompanied by the 'nazzecata' introduces the characteristic ceremonial of the 'bbubbli bbubbli' of GROTTAGLIE and the rituals of GINOSA in the evocative landscape of the ravines.

Moving westwards, on the slope facing the Ionian Sea, we enter the land that once belonged to Magna Graecia, an area where traditional architecture yields to the dreamlike impact of rupestrian churches, in a route that exudes grandeur from the solitary ruins of Greek civilisation and a natural landscape of great beauty.

TARANTO is by right its capital: it is the city 'of the two seas', where the Ionian Sea and the Mar Piccolo meet, creating a cradle for civilisation. The artistic treasures collected in the MARTA archaeological museum (www.museotaranto.beniculturali.it), an essential stop on your trip, are a living testimony to this.

Holy Week in Taranto is a unique event, a trademark known all over the world. At midnight between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, the Procession of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Mother of the people of Taranto, departs from the church of San Domenico in the old city. For 14 hours, the brethren - dressed in white smocks, black mozzetta and hood pulled down over their faces with only two small holes at eye level and a thick crown of thorns on their heads - accompany the simulacrum to the sound of the 'troccola', a characteristic wooden instrument.

Again the sound of the troccola beats the cadenced rhythm of the 'nazzicata' of the Good Friday Procession of the Mysteries. The brethren of Maria SS. Del Carmine proceed in pairs at an extremely slow pace, called 'i perdoni' ('le perdùne' in Taranto dialect), strictly barefoot as they follow the banner and the statues of Christ: the air is thick with solemnity, an evocative atmosphere that will make you feel part of the Taranto community.

In the nearby town of GROTTAGLIE, on the other hand, the confraternity members of the Confraternity of Carmine in pairs visit the 'sepulchres' of the main town churches and take on the characteristic name of 'Bbubbli Bbubbli': strictly barefoot, wearing the ritual dress, on Holy Thursday they devote themselves to the exaltation of Christ in the Eucharist according to a traditional ceremonial.

On Good Friday, however, it is the Procession of the Mysteries that animates the heart of the city, which is also famous for its artistic ceramics. A unique district of Grottaglie is dedicated precisely to ceramics: visit the ancient workshops carved into the rock and admire the handicrafts including 'pumi' and finely decorated plates.

We move slightly inland and a landscape of blades and canyons, with ancient rock churches and the castle dominating the town, form the backdrop to the 'Passio Christi' held in GINOSA. A town divided between land and sea, it offers a scenario of great natural beauty, constituting one of the protected oases of the Apulia Region.

The grandiose scenic narration - which retraces the entire life of Christ - takes place in the ancient heart of the city, amidst the natural ravines that constitute a true open-air theatre where numerous costumed figures accompanied by narrators and musicians take turns; a spectacle that every year attracts fans from all over Europe and will captivate you.

Not to be outdone are the events of Good Friday where the Chorus of the Pious Women is a real peculiarity of the Procession of the Mysteries: it is a group of about a hundred devotees of the people who, accompanied by the Band of the City of Ginosa, sing some classical and traditional songs of Holy Week in Ginosa during the entire route.

The territories of Magna Graecia can still offer places of inestimable beauty that are still unspoilt, such as the crystal-clear beaches of PULSANO, a true jewel of the Ionian Sea.

Here, nature meets the hand of man in a harmony, including architectural harmony, that conquers at first sight and enhances the common religious feeling linked to the rites of Holy Week. On Maundy Thursday, it is impossible not to be emotionally involved by the naughty gait of the 'perdùni', pairs of barefoot and hooded brothers asking for forgiveness, retracing the steps of the ancient Carmelite monks.

It is impossible to remain impassive to the drama of the brother with the troccola who in the middle of the night knocks three times on the door of the Church of Purgatory, which solemnly opens wide to welcome back the Good Friday Mysteries.

photo by Peppe Carucci, Gaetano Armenio, Luca Adamo