| The little church of St. Maria di Barsento is close to a manor house and located in a pleasant and dominant position on the top of a hill overlooking the Canale di Pirro, at 441 meters above sea level and approximately 6 km from the town. According to the tradition, its building was commissioned in 591 by the duke Tulliano on behalf of Saint Gregory I the great, in order to host the monks of St. Equizio. the church was altered many times but it still preserves its old structure and irregular quadrangular shape with three naves and apses as well as the double sloping roof covered with the typical “chiancarelle” (limestone slabs).
Between Noci and Putignano, in the old hamlet known as Casale di Barsentum, most likely of Messapii origins, an extraordinary complex stands witness to the prolonged and continuative phases of settlement here: The Masseria I Monti farm and the adjacent church of Santa Maria di Barsento.
Masseria I Monti dates back to the XVI century, even if recent restoration has brought to light architectural structures that are much older: in fact, the pointed arches date back to the twelfth century while the others can be traced to a monastic settlement adjacent to the nearby Church of Santa Maria di Barsento. The latter today remains an extraordinary example of Romanesque architecture ahead of its time. Built between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the small church features a single spire façade preceded by a small prothyrum, while inside three naves covered by tunnel vaults suggest a longitudinal form.
The system used here for the slanted roofs with small juxtaposed and self-supporting local stone is characteristic of this type of civil construction, often used during the successive eras in the trulli and, more generally, in numerous other rural “dry wall” constructions.
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