The Museum was opened to the public on May 14, 1989, in the former Carmelite monastery of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi, with the annexed church of San Vito Martire, where prehistoric and protohistoric artifacts discovered in archaeological excavations carried out since 1980 in the territory of Ostuni are exhibited. Currently, the new rooms display artifacts from the medieval and modern eras. The church of San Vito Martire, known as “Monacelle,” was entirely built between 1750 and 1752, following the design of an anonymous Neapolitan engineer. It was constructed by Ostuni craftsmen on the site of a previous medieval church of San Vito that was damaged by the earthquake of 1743. The façade highlights in its lines the beginning of the Rococo period in Ostuni, which lasted until the end of the 18th century. The interior, with a single nave, features five altars made of stone of great artistic value and two choir lofts, also in stone, supported by two arches with cherub heads. Four paintings by Neapolitan and Roman artists adorn the altars. In addition to the paintings and stone altars, the wooden furnishings are also rich, such as the 18th-century organ and pulpit, the interior doors and entrance door, the windows, and the grilles that decorate the 18th-century matroneum.
Information about the Museum of Preclassic Civilizations of the Southern Murgia and Archaeological and Natural Park of Santa Maria di Agnano in Ostuni
Via Cattedrale 15 ,
72017 Ostuni (Brindisi)
0831336383
museo.ostuni@libero.it
Source: MIBACT
