San Giorgio Ionico: Piazza, Churches and Le Tagghjate

San Giorgio Ionico: Piazza and Sacred Architecture

Piazza San Giorgio is considered the historic centre of San Giorgio Ionico. Its paving features a mosaic depicting Saint George on horseback. The Chiesa Santa Maria del Popolo has a single-nave layout, a neoclassical façade and two bell towers. The complex also includes the adjoining Oratorio del Santissimo Rosario, dating from the 15th century.

Archaeological Traces and Religious Life

Archaeological excavations in San Giorgio Ionico have uncovered traces of Neolithic villages as well as villages from the Bronze Age and Iron Age. The area also preserves evidence of a Greek and Roman presence. Anyone interested in the long development of a place will therefore find several clearly distinguishable historical layers here.

Religious traditions also shape the town's piazza and churches. After the procession of the patron saint, the community gathers in Piazza San Giorgio for a Eucharistic celebration. The Chiesa Santi Patroni d'Italia was founded in 1986 and dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Catherine of Siena, the patron saints of Italy. It was consecrated on 31 October 2011.

The Cappella della Madonna della Croce is an old chapel whose construction probably predates the Chiesa Madre. Every year on the eve of Ascension Day, the statue associated with the chapel is carried by worshippers and a priest to the Chiesa Madre and later brought back in a procession.

Culture in Everyday Life and Historic Landscape

On Via Maggiore, the Biblioteca civica “G. Monteleone” promotes culture and reading and offers library services to interested people. Thus, alongside churches, chapels and archaeological traces, institutions of cultural life also form part of the character of San Giorgio Ionico.

Le Tagghjate provide a distinctive accent. The site is a historical and social example of proto-industrial archaeology and extends for approximately two kilometres along the slope of Belvedere Hill. Le Tagghjate consist of a succession of rooms, steps, façades and blocks of tuff left standing during extraction. They are surrounded by Mediterranean maquis of great natural significance.

Access to the interior of the Le Tagghjate complex is through lateral work openings cut into the rock and through the two remaining ends of the old paths. The special form of this place combines worked tuff with the surrounding Mediterranean maquis, without either area losing its own distinctive character.

Guidance for Planning Your Trip

The different features of San Giorgio Ionico can provide clear guidance when choosing your accommodation: churches, piazza and religious traditions contrast with a landscape of Le Tagghjate, tuff and maquis. You can therefore choose a hotel or other accommodation according to the cultural or landscape focus you would like to explore more closely on your trip.

Access to Castello d'Ayala Valva is subject to the site's opening hours. When planning the rest of your trip, you can also include destinations in the same broader travel area: San Pietro In Bevagna, Palagianello, Marina Di Pulsano, Grottaglie, Mottola, Monacizzo, Torricella and Librari.

To the broader travel overview: Taranto.