Il Museo del Sottosuolo a Latiano was founded in 1977 by Pietro Parenzan, an illustrious naturalist and university professor; after his death (1992) the management of the facility was entrusted to the Latianese Dr. Michele Camassa and the Museum was transferred in 1993 to the premises of the sixteenth-century former Abbey of Santa Margherita di Latiano. Since 2003 the museum has become municipal property. There is no evidence about the foundation of the convent, but some archival documents record the activity of the preaching fathers of Latiano already in the sixteenth century. Of the complex remains the very ancient church of the Most Holy Rosary; although the time of construction has never been ascertained, it is known that in 1520 the Dominican Fathers were its owners. During the reign of Philip II, King of Naples, the church together with the convent was called “Abbey of Santa Margherita.” In 1806, when Napoleon ordered the closure of the convents, the structure became municipal property and was then given back to the Capuchin Fathers who kept it until 1866, the year in which religious orders were suppressed. On May 1, 1867, the buildings returned to municipal property, which used the convent premises for offices and schools and ceded the church to the archconfraternity of the Most Holy Rosary.
Information about the Underground Museum of Latiano
Via Santa Margherita, 91
72022 Latiano (Brindisi)
0831729465
isbios@libero.it
https://isbios.webjump.com
Source: MIBACT
