Sant'Agata di Puglia

The village has an unusual shape: a range of houses and narrow streets that characterize the historic center full of beautiful buildings and houses decorated according to the local artisan tradition.

The origins of Sant'Agata seem to date back to the ancient Roman Empire, when the fortress called Artemisium was built to protect the monumental and strategic bridge over the Calaggio that connected the Appia, with the Traiana, Herculea and Herdonea streets. In the Lombard period it was transformed into a castle, later renovated by the Normans and the Swabians first and then by the Angevins.

Over time the urban structure of the municipality has developed progressively according to a spiral shape that takes place from the Imperial Castle, which dominates the village, down to the valley, giving life to alleys, steep staircases, arches, towers, churches and bell towers, peasant houses and noble palaces with characteristic portals enriched by noble coats of arms.

Among the churches worth a visit are San Nicola, with the unusual decorations of its crypt, Sant'Andrea and San Michele. Not to be missed are definitely the seventeenth-century olive mill Nova and the old straw oven, while around the village the remains of the Roman Bridge on the Calaggio, those of the Convent of Sant'Antuono and the monolith of Santulinze.

The historical, artistic and naturalistic value of Sant'Agata has been recognized by the Italian Touring Club, which awarded the village with the Orange Flag. The beautiful village also boasts the title of Slow City of the slow food circuit.