{"id":750,"date":"2017-09-19T17:30:56","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T15:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trevoltebelle.com\/en\/?page_id=750"},"modified":"2024-05-15T16:42:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T14:42:08","slug":"architetture-religiose-carpignano-salentino","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trevoltebelle.com\/en\/the-area\/carpignano-salentino\/architetture-religiose-carpignano-salentino\/","title":{"rendered":"Religious architecture in Carpignano Salentino"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2022 SANTA CRISTINA BYZANTINE CRYPT (CRIPTA BIZANTINA DI SANTA CRISTINA) <\/strong> (IX-XI century)
\nSanta Cristina Crypt (or Madonna of the Graces) represents the first testimony of the presence of the Byzantine Greek rituals in Carpignano and is also one of the oldest religious sites in the whole of Puglia. Entirely carved in the rock, the Crypt dates back to the IX century, it represents an important example of the Byzantine art in Southern Italy and it holds the oldest paintings in Southern Italy, dated and signed.
\nNowadays, the most common denomination given to the site is Santa Cristina Crypt; Santa Cristina is, in fact, represented at least seven times in the crypt. The old denomination of Crypt of St. Marina and Cristina, proposed by the first experts, is today obsolete, because the two paintings originally attributed to Marina are actually Cristina and an Angel. The official denomination of Madonna of the Graces church is still used mostly due to the location of the church (Madonna of the Graces square).
\nThe current look of the crypt is the result of the renovation undertaken in the XVIII century, that deeply changed the structure but luckily preserved the vast majority of the paintings. The room is now divided in two sections, a larger one, which is the crypt itself, and a smaller one (the so-called endonartece), which is a sort of vestibule. In the larger section, the only remaining pillar marks the division between the holy area, called \u201cvima\u201d in Greek, from the \u201cNaos\u201d, the area for the churchgoers.
\nIn the smaller room, which according to the tradition was sacred to Santa Marina, there is, just in front of the entrance staircase, an altar from the XVIII century named after the Madonna of the Graces, which include an oval niche with a painting of the Holy Mary with Jesus. On the side wall there are representations of San Biagio and Sant\u2019Antonio Abate, while at the end of the same wall is represented a woman whose only visible part is her face, identified as Santa Marina.
\nIn the larger room, sacred to Santa Cristina, there are the most famous paintings of the crypt, the Teofilatto and the Eustazio groups, from the name of the painters who made them. The group made by Teofilatto, located in the main area, dates back to 959 ac, as indicated, and represents a Christ Pantocrator. In the left apse, the group of paintings by Eustazio represent a Christ on a throne, with the Holy Mary with Jesus at his left and two other characters at his right. This composition dates back to 1020 ac. On the north side, in front of the staircase, there are two paintings of Santa Cristina. The first one, the smaller one, is in better condition and dates back to the XII century; the second one, almost entirely ruined, was painted on an inner layer of the wall and might be the oldest painting of the entire church. On the south side, on the right hand side to the staircase, there is another picture of Santa Cristina, dating back to the XV century. On the next corner walls there are a number of paintings whilst on the only original pillar there are three paintings: San Nicola at the centre, San Teodoro to the right and Santa Cristina to the left.<\/p>\n