| Not far from the centre of Acquarica del Capo, close to Masseria Celsorizzo, is the Church of Santa Maria Panetti and its adjoining crypt, thought to date back to around the 11th -12th century.
The building was originally a place of worship in a village which was mentioned in the Ceciovizzi source.
The village was abandoned at the end of the Medieval period, at a time when many people were leaving country villages and moving to larger towns where defences were being built around the towns.
The church has undergone restoration work and partial makeovers several times and has been reduced in size.
However, the two apse plan is definitely original, mirroring a style of ecclesiastical architecture which was quite widespread, especially in Greece.
Unfortunately little is left of the original frescoes, but some later paintings can still be seen in the area of the apses.
One of these is a fresco made up of three figures, one of which is recognisably Saint Francis, dated 1676. In the second apse you can see the figure of Christ who is holding a scroll/Pergamum in his left hand with a Greek inscription on it.
Next to the Church of Madonna dei Panetti is an underground olive press, recently restored thanks to a project financed by Acquarica Town Council and the Santa Maria di Leuca GAL organisation.
It is believed that originally the cavity which was later used for the press was an underground crypt, perhaps even older than the church which is next to it.
What is certain is that the press was used for a long time and was only abandoned at the beginning of the 20th century due to the bad working conditions underground.
You can enter by going down some barrel vaulted stairs, along which you can see the first two store areas for olives called “sciave”.
From here you enter a large circular room, the third deposit for olives and for the soaking stage in a large tub or bath.
From this room to the pressing room were there were three two-screw presses of the “calabrian” type; of these only the settings for the plinths remain. |