The rural area of Pisanello
Home – Pisanello area
sancto pisanellum
the medieval settlement
that shaped the landscape
Before Galatina developed into a town, this area was characterised by small Basilian settlements. Among them, one of the most significant was Pisanello, already documented in 1427 and strategically located between Noha, Sogliano Cavour, and Galatina.
This area was crossed by a key route of the medieval road network, the “viam publicam qua itur de Sancto Pisanellum”, a road that connected the inland territories as far as Santa Maria di Leuca.
Pisanello was surrounded by numerous rural chapels – now partly lost – that bear witness to a widespread agricultural life: St Anne, St Anthony, St Nicholas, St Eulalia, and others. Within this sacred landscape stood the original crypt, which over the centuries would give way to the present church of Santa Maria della Porta.
A place inhabited in the pre-Roman period
In 1882, the archaeologist Luigi Viola discovered a Messapian stele dating to the 2nd–3rd century BC, now preserved in the Cavoti Civic Museum, likely dedicated to Aphrodite—an important testament to the area’s pre-Roman presence.
Local tradition, so deeply rooted that it has been recorded by local historians, tells that Saint Peter, while crossing Salento on his journey towards the place of his martyrdom, stopped here to rest, sitting on a stone.
The tradition of Saint Peter’s passage
Local tradition, so deeply rooted that it has been recorded by local historians, tells that Saint Peter, while crossing Salento on his journey towards the place of his martyrdom, stopped here to rest, sitting on a stone. In 1665, that stone was transferred to the Mother Church of Galatina by Bishop Gabriele Adarzo and commemorated with the inscription: “Hic S. Petri defessi levamen 1665” – here the weary Peter found rest. Regardless of its historical accuracy, the strength of this tradition points to a place that was inhabited, traversed, and recognised. So enduring was its influence that it gave the emerging settlement its name: Sanctus Petrus de Galatino.
Legends, bindings, and the myth of the hidden crypt
Pisanello has endured through stories. Evidence of this survives in an old rhyme, still known today, which refers to the “acchiature” (hidden treasures of the land) and recites: “Pisano e Pisanello distrutti fur dai mori, sotto l’altar maggiore si trovano i tesori.”
It is no coincidence that many local scholars have suggested the existence of a crypt beneath the present church, currently inaccessible, with a three-nave, three-apse layout typical of Greek-rite churches.
It is possible that the vault of the crypt collapsed or suffered significant damage, but no reliable sources are available to confirm this.
