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Manduria is a lovely town of Messapian origins and it
keeps several traces of its proud past. Today Manduria is
an important oil and wine producer with a noble appearance. The
heart of the town is Piazza Garibaldi where the XVIIIth century
Palazzo Imperiali stands. It has a monumental portal and an iron
wrought balcony running across the facade. This only one of
Manduria’s ancient residences (Palazzo Arn, Palazzo Giannuzzi,
Palazzo Gigli, Palazzo Dragonetti etc.). The Romanesque
cathedral is of an amazing beauty. It has a large rose-window on
the facade and a Gothic-Romanesque bell-tower. The nave is
divided into two aisles by sumptuous capitals of the XVIth
century. The ruins of cyclopean walls are the testimony of the
bitter wars that opposed Manduria to Taranto. The three circles
of walls date from the Vth to the IIIrd century. B.C. The Fonte
di Plinio belongs to the Roman period. It seems that Pliny
mentioned this natural grotto and people namet it after him. The
level of the water inside it always remains consistant. |