Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Santuario di San Michele
(Via Reale Basilica; 7.30am-7.30pm Jul-Sep, 7.30am-12.30pm & 2.30-7pm Apr-Jun & Oct, 7.30am-12:30pm &
2-5pm Nov-Mar)
Look for the 17th-century pilgrims' graffiti as you descend the steps.
St Michael is said to have left a footprint in stone inside the grotto, so it became custom-
ary for pilgrims to carve outlines of their feet and hands. Etched Byzantine bronze and sil-
ver doors, cast in Constantinople in 1076, open into the grotto itself. Inside, a 16th-cen-
tury statue of the archangel covers the site of St Michael's footprint.
GROTTO
Tomba di Rotari
(admission €1; 10am-1pm & 3-7pm Apr-Oct)
A short flight of stairs opposite the Santuario di San
Michele leads not to a tomb but to a 12th-century baptistry with a deep sunken basin for
total immersion. You enter the baptistry through the facade of the
Chiesa di San Pietro
with its
intricate rose window squirming with serpents - all that remains of the church, destroyed
in a 19th-century earthquake. The Romanesque portal of the adjacent 11th-century
Chiesa di
Santa Maria Maggiore
has some fine bas-reliefs.
HISTORIC SITE
Castle
(Largo Roberto Giuscardo 2; admission €2; 9.30am-1pm & 2.30-7pm)
At the highest point is this
rugged bijou, a Norman castle with Swabian and Aragonese additions as well as panor-
amic views.
HISTORIC SITE
Sleeping & Eating
Hotel Michael
( 0884 56 55 19;
www.hotelmichael.com
; Via Basilica 86; s €50-60, d €70-80; )
A small hotel with
shuttered windows, located on the main street, across from the Santuario di San Michele,
this traditional place has spacious rooms with extremely pink bedspreads. Ask for a room
with a view.
HOTEL
$
Casa li Jalantuúmene
(
TRATTORIA
$$
0884 56 54 84;
www.li-jalantuumene.it
;
Piazza de Galganis 5; meals €40;
lunch Wed-Mon Feb-Dec;
)
This renowned restaurant has an entertaining and eccentric chef, Gegè Mangano, and
serves excellent fare. It's intimate, there's a select wine list and, in summer, tables spill in-
to the piazza. It has four suites (€130), decorated in traditional Puglian style.
