Church of the Carmine

At the northern end of the historical centre, Grottaglie holds the elegant Church of the Carmine, part of the 16th-century convent bearing the same name. The origin of the church is in a Madonna affresco found in a cave on which it was decided to build the Christian temple. The building preserves testimonies of the Carmelite passage such as the garden and the splendid cloister frescoed with biblical scenes in the imposing Elijah Cycle in excellent condition. The interior is a triumph of canvases and decorations, including a precious painting by the Neapolitan Paolo Finoglio behind the baptism font, but the church’s jewel in the crown is the polychrome stone nativity scene attributed to Stefano da Putignano and made around 1530.