Casamassima: Borgo, Churches and Pentolaccia

Discover Casamassima through its medieval borgo, churches and buildings in the historic centre, as well as its events and landscape. If you’re looking for a hotel, these different highlights can help you organise the themes of your trip.

Borgo, squares and historic buildings

In the medieval borgo, winding streets run around courtyards and lead to dead ends known as chiassi. This network of lanes gives the townscape a distinctive historical character. The Torre dell’Orologio overlooks the main square in the historic centre. The Castello, an ancient aristocratic palace considered the heart of the historic borgo, is also located there.

Cultural institutions also form part of the townscape: the Complesso delle Monacelle houses the Museo Civico. The Biblioteca Comunale, with around 10,000 volumes, is located in Palazzo Monacelle. Alongside its streets and buildings, the museum and library reflect Casamassima’s cultural side.

Churches and their architectural history

The Chiesa Santa Croce, also known as the Chiesa Madre, is in the Borgo Antico and dates back to 1321. Inside the church is a 16th-century Madonna and Child attributed to Stefano da Putignano. An ancient burial ground was also discovered during restoration work at the Chiesa Santa Croce in 1996–97. The building’s history, artwork and archaeological find point to different layers of history.

The Chiesa del Santo Rosario was built in 1535 in honour of Saints Rocco and Sebastiano. Its two-storey façade is clad in stone. The Chiesa Santa Maria delle Grazie was built in 1575 and extended in 1837. In its crypt, arches and columns, a majolica floor and colourful geometric decorations define the space. The Chiesa del Purgatorio is also a remarkable building in the historic centre.

Events and a memorial site

The Pentolaccia Casamassimese is a traditional Carnival event and has been listed among the Carnevali Storici d’Italia since 2016. It features allegorical floats, performances by masked groups and the opening of the Pentolaccia. This offers a different way to experience local culture than the churches and historic buildings that shape the town year-round. If you’d like to include the event in your travel plans, check the date for the year you’re travelling.

The Cimitero Polacco Korpusu is a distinctive site and one of four Polish cemeteries in Italy. It contains 431 stone graves arranged in orderly rows, as is typical of Anglo-Saxon cemeteries. The grave markers are Christian, Orthodox, Muslim and Jewish. Every year on 2 November, a memorial ceremony is held at the cemetery for the Polish soldiers who fell in the Second World War.

Landscape and how to get there

The Marcedde woodland is a ten-hectare stretch of Mediterranean maquis along the Lama San Giorgio. It consists mainly of downy oaks and Turkey oaks. Agriculture in the Casamassima area focuses mainly on olive groves, almond groves, cherry orchards and vineyards for table grapes. Alongside its historic buildings, the area also offers distinctive landscapes and agricultural traditions.

Casamassima is crossed by the Statale 100 and Statale 172 and connected to the nearby A14 by the local road network. You can take this road information into account when planning your journey. When looking for a hotel in Casamassima, it also helps to consider in advance whether the historic townscape, an event, the memorial site or the landscape will be the focus of your stay. Then match your choice to your travel dates and the information provided for each hotel.

Discover more destinations: Molfetta, Putignano, Capurso, Bisceglie, Sannicandro Di Bari, Minervino Murge, Macchia Di Monte, Santo Spirito.

Go to the regional travel overview: Bari.