...rises on the limestone plateau of the southeastern Murge and belongs to the tourist area of caves and trulli, located on the edge of a karst depression, in an area characterized by dolines, blades, caves, sinkholes and chasms.
Near the town, less than 1 km away, are the famous Castellana Caves, karst cavities discovered in January 1938 by Franco Anelli and Vito Matarrese, which are the area's main tourist attraction. Castellana was born in the early Middle Ages thanks to the colonization carried out by the Monastery of St. Benedict of Conversano, and is first mentioned in documents from the 10th century, specifically in a parchment dated 901.
Its official foundation is traced back to 1171, the year in which Abbot Eustasius donated the church of San Magno and the surrounding lands, with good terms of vassalage, to two Otrantines, Nicola and Costa, in order to repopulate the existing cluster of houses. In the mid-1400s, Castellana and the county of Conversano constituted the dowry of Caterina Orsini in marriage to Giulio Antonio Acquaviva, duke of Atri. From this time on a strong development of the town began. In 1691 there was a tremendous plague epidemic in Castellana.
According to tradition, the village was finally saved by the intervention of Our Lady of Vetrana. Over the years, the surrounding area changes abruptly, and forests give way to vineyards and wheat. Wild deforestation caused floods, which created great damage to property and people. Emergency resolved in 1913 with the construction of the Rainwater Canal. In 1938 the town underwent a touristic change, thanks to the discovery of the Caves by Professor Franco Anelli assisted by Vito Matarrese (who would later discover the White Cave himself).
In 1950 the name of the town was changed from Castellana to Castellana Grotte, as a tribute to the discovery of the caves.
THE FEAST.
As our ancestors decided, the feast has been celebrated, since 1691, on the last Sunday in April. It is the main, solemn, most important feast in Castellana and is held amidst the sounds of various bands, lavish lighting and fireworks ignitions. Since it is one of the first festivals in the area, it is closely followed by the patron saint's festival committees of neighboring towns. They come to become aware of the new things on offer in the market.
The April festival features three processions.
The First takes place on Saturday evening, when the Madonna is processionally carried from the Convent of the Friars to the Mother Church. Arriving near the Municipal Villa, Our Lady is presented with the keys of the city by the authorities, and as soon as the procession resumes, as soon as it turns onto the main street of the festivities, the sumptuous illumination that is carried out each year is lit.
The next day, Sunday, at noon the second long and solemn procession comes out of the Mother Church, in which all the priests with their purple mozzettas, the Franciscan religious, and all the confraternities with their variously colored garments, the city authorities headed by the mayor in a tricolor sash, the City Council, the mayors of the neighboring towns with their respective gonfalons, the military authorities and all the members of the Patronal Feast Commission participate.
Our Lady walks majestically surrounded by golden "lampstands" and wreaths of flowers. In a riot of colors and hieratic poses, a unique fact in the whole area, all the statues of saints, venerated in the city's Churches, also parade in procession. It is as if the whole of Heaven is joined in the great celebration. In the evening then great band concerts take turns on the sound box, and, for the enjoyment of the many fans, they perform songs from operas and classical romances.
The third procession takes place on Monday, when Our Lady goes for a week to one of the three city parishes (each year to a different church), then returns to the Convent the following Sunday.
To visit: Chiesa Matrice San Leone Magno, Santuario Maria SS. della Vetrana, Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Le Grotte.
