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Putignano ( Barese: ) is an Italian town of 26 644 inhabitants located in the Murgia of the
Metropolitan City of Bari The Metropolitan City of Bari ( it, Città Metropolitana di Bari) is a metropolitan city in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bari. It replaced the Province of Bari and includes the city of Bari and some forty other municipali ...
, in
Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...
, southern
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It is known for its ancient Carnival, for textile manufacturing companies and for karst caves.


Physical geography

Putignano rises in a hilly position in the Murgia of trulli and caves, at an altitude of 372 m s.l.m. The territory, which covers an area of 99.11 km² and has an altitude of between 293 and 456 m asl, is morphologically made up of a series of terraces composed of layers of limestone positioned on irregular levels.


Origin of the name

There are various conjectures around the origin of the toponym:


History

Putignano originated from an ancient Peuceta center. There are numerous archaeological finds such as vases, coins, weapons, found in ancient burials. It is conceivable, in the absence of further evidence, that it prospered during the age of Magna Graecia, until it subsequently became a Roman municipium. The center decayed over the centuries. Around the year 1000 the territory of Putignano became the property of the Benedictine monks who resided in the Abbey of Santo Stefano di Monopoli. Since then small families of peasants began to live in the territory of Putignano in the service of the Benedictines. Over the years the population progressively increased, so that a small agricultural center was born, which developed over the centuries. The Benedictine domination dates back to some events concerning Frederick II of Swabia. He loved to hunt in the territories of Bari, in fact he also had a residence in Gioia del Colle. Putignano was also dear to him, so much so that he had a castle built immediately outside the town. Preparing to enter the city, the people of Putignano denied him access, on the advice of the Benedictines, siding with the Pope who had excommunicated the emperor. From then on his love for the city became hatred for the infidelity he suffered, destroying the castle, of which today no trace remains and severely ruining the walls. The fights of the bishop of Conversano were added to the fury of Frederick II to obtain spiritual jurisdiction over the territory. However, for a long period of time, Putignano enjoyed (as happened in the nearby city of Rutigliano) the status of ecclesia nullius diocesis, that is it did not belong to any diocese and was under the direct dependence of the Holy See. In 1317, due to some disagreements between the Benedictine monks, he handed Putignano into the hands of the order of the Knights of Jerusalem. The feud was declared a slave and whoever obtained the investiture was called Balì and had temporal and spiritual power. In this period the Adriatic coast was the victim of Turkish raids. For this reason it was decided to transfer a Byzantine icon with the effigy of the Virgin and the relics of Santo Stefano from the Abbey of Santo Stefano in Monopoli in safer territories. Putignano was chosen, where a church was built for the conservation of these objects. It is also said that on the occasion of the procession for the transfer of the relics the Propaggini celebrations originated, the opening event of the Putignano Carnival. The period of greatest splendor lived under the dominion of the Gerosolimitani or Cavalieri di Malta, was that of the Balì Carafa government. In 1472 he had a new wall built to replace the old one damaged by Frederick II. He built it larger and more imposing, with 14 round towers and 12 quadrangles, surrounded by a large moat. It also allowed the opening of a second door, Porta Barsento, in addition to the existing Porta Grande. In 1477 he completed another great work. He rebuilt the Church of San Pietro Apostolo, building it much larger and giving it a great artistic and architectural value. It was in fact the first church built in Putignano and had become small and decadent, because it dates back to the period of the first peasant nucleus of the year 1000. During the seventeenth century Putignano developed notably, becoming an important agricultural center and accumulating great wealth and works of art, kept in the numerous churches of the city and in the many convents established. At the end of the eighteenth century, however, even Putignano was victim of the requisitions of property of the French, who carried away all the church bells (except the largest of the church of San Pietro, still existing today) and numerous paintings and sacred furnishings. In 1806, three olms were planted by the French in Putignano in memory of the ideas of democracy and freedom. Of these, one is still in existence today. In the Risorgimento numerous people from Putignano joined the Garibaldi Thousand, including Captain Francesco Saverio Tateo, one of the insurgents of Villa Glori. After the unification of Italy, Putignano grew and developed. During the fascist dictatorship it was visited twice by Prince Umberto II of Savoy, a friend of the Romanazzi-Carducci family, a noble Putignanese family. Putignano reached its full development during the fifties and sixties, in which the development of the textile industry flourished and the Carnival took its current form. In addition, numerous infrastructures were built, including the hospital, which made Putignano one of the main centers of south-eastern Bari.


Events


Carnival

The Putignano Carnival is the best known of Southern Italy but also the oldest in Europe. Its first edition dates back to 1394. The Putignano Carnival is one of the longest in duration. It starts on December 26 with the Propaggini event. It recalls the arrival in Putignano of the relics of Santo Stefano from the abbey of Monopoli. On this day, the Putignanesi perform in theatricals in the vernacular, accusing and mocking local authorities about the problems of the country that have remained unresolved. Then there are the carnival Thursdays, there are seven of them and they are counted starting from January 17 (Feast of Sant'Antonio Abate). Every Thursday is dedicated to every category of the Putignano population, which is called to celebrate the carnival, so we have Thursday: Monsignori, priests, nuns, widows and widows, Pazzi (single boys), married women, of the Cornuti (married men). The most important is that of the Cornuti, as it reminds the population that the carnival is about to end. During the horned Thursday, the "Accademia delle Corna" elects the "Great Horned of the Year" among the leading members of the population. The carnival ends on Shrove Tuesday, with the last evening parade and the carnival funeral. Famous are the papier-mâché giants, generically called "allegorical carts"; they parade during the four carnival parades, generally held on a Sunday, except on Shrove Tuesday.


Monuments and places of interest


Religious architectures

* Chiesa di Santa Maria La Greca e di Santo Stefano protomartire e patrono con la reliquia del cranio di S.Stefano e consacrata il 28 aprile 1522; *Chiesa di Santa Maria di Costantinopoli; * Convento delle Carmelitane e annessa chiesa; * Chiesa di San Lorenzo e Madonna del Pozzo; * Cappella del Purgatorio; *Chiesa della Maddalena; *Grotta di San Michele in Monte Laureto (in periferia); * Chiesa di Santo Stefano Piccolo; * Chiesa rupestre della Madonna delle Grazie; * Chiesa dei SS. Cosma e Damiano e di S.Irene; *Cappella di San Biagio Vescovo (in periferia); * Monastero e Chiesa di Santa Chiara; * Chiesa di San Pietro Piturno; * Cappella di Pin Pen; * Chiesa dei Cappuccini.


Others

*Principe Guglielmo Romanazzi Carducci Civic Museum of Santo Mauro *Civic Museum of the sculptor Giuseppe Albano *War Memorial *Bust of Vincenzo Petruzzi *Bust of Cesare Contegiacomo - sculptor Giuseppe Albano from Putignano - *Monument to the fallen of Nassirya *Bust of Pietro Mezzapesa


Languages and dialects

The Putignanese dialect is a variant of the Bari lineage and how this is characterized by linguistic sedimentation due to the dominations that followed one another over the centuries. Conspicuous is the presence of words of Greek origin, acquired during the period of the Magna Graecia and during the later Byzantine domination: Ceras (cherry), derives from εράσιον; Panar (wicker basket), derives from Παναριον; Grast (vase with plant), derives from γράστις, which means grass; Zeit (boyfriends), comes from Ζυγή, which means pair, couple.


Movie set

Putignano was chosen as the setting for the fiction The General of the Brigands (2012) by Paolo Poeti. Some scenes were shot in the Palazzo del Balì.


Economy

In the past, the economy of the city was principally based on agriculture, but in more recent times the population has transformed it into an industrial centre. Numerous families have founded companies in industries such as food production (
taralli Taralli are toroidal Italian snack foods, common in the southern half of the Italian Peninsula. A cracker similar in texture to a breadstick, a pretzel, a bublik, a Sushki or baranki, taralli can be sweet or savory. Sweet taralli are sometim ...
are one example) and the manufacture of dresses for wedding and children's religious functions.


Culture

Putignano is well known for its
Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
, which is the oldest (dating to 1394) and longest-lasting Italian carnival, as it starts the day after
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
and finishes the day before
Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent (the six weeks of penitence before Easter). It is observed by Catholics in the Rom ...
. There are four Carnival parades, three taking place on the last month's Sundays and one in the evening of the last day of carnival,
Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession and absolution, the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms, finalizing one's Lenten s ...
. As of 2005, the Carnival Foundation added a summer parade that usually takes place in July. The name of the city has also been given to an asteroid of this solar system, 7665 Putignano.


Transport

The town is served by
Putignano railway station Putignano is a railway station in Putignano, Italy. The station is located on the Bari–Martina Franca–Taranto railway and Bari-Casamassima-Putignano railway. The train services and the railway infrastructure are operated by Ferrovie del Sud Es ...
, with regional services to
Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
and
Martina Franca Martina Franca, or just Martina ( Martinese: ), is a town and ''municipality'' in the province of Taranto, Apulia, Italy. It is the second most populated town of the province after Taranto, and has a population (2016) of 49,086. Since 1975, th ...
.


Services

In this town there is a big high school that offers three different orientations specializing students in: *classical subjects *scientific subjects *languages


References


External links


Official website

Carnival of Putignano

Putignano nel mondo
{{authority control Cities and towns in Apulia