Sanarica, Lecce

Tourist information on where to sleep in the municipality of Sanarica (Lecce)

Population: 1465 inhabitants
In total area: 127 kmXNUMX
Density: 114 inhabitants/kmXNUMX

Accessibility : The town of Sanarica is 36 km from Lecce , the capital of Salento, and can be reached from the SS.16, the SS. 173, and also from the SS.497.

Common address of Sanarica, Lecce: Via Roma
Tel .: 0836 - 343218

The town was founded between the ninth and tenth centuries by a handful of people who escaped the destruction of Muro Leccese and wanted to create a new village in a place not far from their native land.

What to visit in Sanarica?

Sanarica has several monumental realities.

• The Church of the Annunciation, built in 1620, has two entrances, to the right of the main one, externally, there is a small Calvary.
  On the main door there is a niche in which there is a statue of the Madonna and the Archangel Gabriel in Lecce stone.

• The Basilica of San Salvatore It has a basilica plan, with three naves ending in as many apses.
  In the past, a double lancet window opened in the central apse and a single lancet window in the two lateral ones.
  The roof of the church is made of slabs of Lecce stone which replace the original flat wooden roof.
  On the walls of the central nave there is a fragmentary Christological cycle, of which some details of a Nativity can be seen, of which the image of Joseph and the Washing of the Child, in the basin, cared for by two wet nurses, remains quite visible.
  An important fresco is the one depicting the Transfiguration of the Lord and which can be dated to the fourteenth century.

• The Byzantine Crypt of the Assumption it is located below the main church of Sanarica, dedicated to the Madonna Assunta, which is why the rock building was identified as such.
  The crypt, entirely dug into the rock, has a Greek cross plan.
  The apses all face east and on the walls, once completely frescoed, one can see faint traces of paintings which, however, do not allow for a meaningful reading and therefore do not allow one to understand to whom the sacred building was truly dedicated.

• The Mother Church of Sanarica is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption.
  Construction work began in 1605 and was completed six years later, in 1611.
  The façade is simple with a single portal, surmounted by a statue of the Madonna in Lecce stone.
  Higher up there is a pierced window. The interior consists of a single nave, the presbytery and the sacristy.
  From the inside you can access a small chapel that opens into the wall on the right as soon as you enter the main door.
  The church preserves several altars such as that of Saint Anthony, of the Madonna of Constantinople, of Saint Nicholas Bishop of Myra and of Saint Catherine.
  All are made of Lecce stone like the central one.

A curiosity is passed down orally.
According to legend, there was an underground passage that connected the church to the ducal palace opposite, through which the nobles reached the sacred building without meeting the people.

• The Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie It is the most important church for the people of Sanarica as it is dedicated to their protector.
  It was built in 1712 but previously there was another building dating back to 1300.
  The church is in Baroque style.
  On the main altar there is an effigy of the Madonna dating back to 1200, on whose head is placed a silver crown.
  The statue of the Madonna delle Grazie, crafted in Naples, is made of Venetian wood and dates back to 1732.

Source: www.comune.sanarica.le.it