Church of Our Lady of the Greek, the oldest of Locorotondo

The Church of Our Lady of the Greek is the oldest church in Locorotondo, built twice. The first building dates back to the VII-VIII century, while the current one dates back to the XV century. The latter was built in 1480 on commission of Pirro Orsini del Balzo, Prince of Taranto, who was visiting Locorotondo. It was decided to build it on the site where there was already a grotto with an image of the Madonna and still today traces of the primitive structure can be seen incorporated in the 15th century one. Despite the various reconstructions that the church has undergone over the centuries, it still retains a medieval Gothic style inside and a sober medieval essentiality outside. The façade is bell-shaped with side sloping roofs that hint at the internal division of the three naves. The facade is pierced by a stone rose window made in the twentieth century by the master locorotondo, Domenico Rosato, designed by Vito Giuseppe Curri. The rose window is a reproduction of the previous, medieval one that was destroyed. On the superior angles of the first elevation of the façade there are the statues of the Saints Peter and Paul, coming in all probability from the ancient Mother Church. In the past, the church must have been decorated with frescoes, as evidenced by a fragment of a fresco of the Madonna and Child on the wall of the right aisle. Some sculptural works in local stone are preserved in an excellent state. On the high altar there is the polyptych of the Madonna delle Rose with s.. Lucia, s. Peter, s. Paolo and s. Oronzo, commissioned in the 16th century by Ottaviano Loffredo, lord of Locorotondo. Two other valuable works: the bas-relief of St. George (1559) at the end of the left aisle and the statue of a kneeling warrior with clasped hands, with a mysterious identity. For some it is Pirro Orsini del Balzo, for others, Ottaviano Loffredo.