GROTTAGLIE
Present-day Grottaglie (ancient Cryptae-aliae) is a medieval town in Apulia, in the province of Taranto, with a population of 35,000 inhabitants and an ancient tradition in the Art of Ceramics (today counting about 70 factories and small workshops). It is rich in Romanesque monuments (Mother Church), Baroque style (Church and Cloister of San Francesco di Paola), a large stone Nativity scene by Stefano da Putignano in the Church of the Carmine, the Medieval Episcopio Castle, the historic center currently undergoing restoration, and the splendid frescoes in the cave churches of the Rupestrian Civilization (Riggio): a natural ravine with its fascinating waterfall.
The Ceramics District in Grottaglie rises on the Gravina of San Giorgio, the first inhabited nucleus of the ancient Cryptae Aliae, until, with the rise of the historic center and the Episcopio Castle, these caves were converted into craft workshops, ceramic studios, oil mills or tanneries, later becoming exclusively ceramic workshops and laboratories.
