Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie di Sant’Agata di Puglia

The Church was fundamental to the adjacent Abbey of the Priory of San Pietro Orbitano, founded by the ancient Norman family of Frittone; the monastery hosted for a long time the Verginiani, monks of the Benedictine Order.

The abbey complex was the active center of many activities of the city life, serving as a place of worship as a gymnasium, high school, hospital, prison and magistrate’s court. In addition to the Church and the monastery, the abbey extended into a large area that included a farmhouse, several houses and mills and many lands donated by the Lords of the Fortress and devotees.

Today the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie has a beautiful stone facade with horizontal bands and a bell tower of classical brick workmanship; the interiors are of a Mannerist Baroque and still used for cults.

The ancient monastery instead houses a characteristic B & B.