A few kilometers from the center of Polignano a Mare, in the hamlet of San Vito, stands one of the most fascinating and historically rich places in Puglia: the Abbey of San Vito Martire. This extraordinary monastic complex, directly overlooking the Adriatic Sea, combines spirituality, architecture and legend, becoming one of the most striking destinations on the Trulli Coast.
Origins between history and legend
Tradition says that in 801 A.D. a ship landed on the Apulian coast carrying the relics of St. Vitus, a young Christian martyr, and his preceptors Modestus and Crescenza, brought here by Fiorenza, a noblewoman from Salerno who escaped a shipwreck thanks to a miraculous apparition of the saint. In gratitude, Fiorenza would buy the land where the abbey later arose, entrusting it to Benedictine monks.
According to another legend, the complex would have been built on the ruins of a pagan temple or the Turris Caesaris, an ancient Roman structure overlooking the harbor, from which the detour of the Via Traiana passed. The original monastic structure was probably erected in the early Middle Ages by Basilian monks, fleeing from the East.
The actual foundation of the abbey dates back to the 10th century, during the Benedictine era. From the 14th to the 18th century, the complex housed the Friars Minor Conventual of the Holy Apostles, while in 1785 it passed to the Royal State Property. Following the suppression of religious orders, in 1866 the state sold the entire complex to the La Greca family, which still owns the structure today, except for the church, which is entrusted to the Chiesa Matrice di Santa Maria Assunta.
Architecture and art
The Abbey has an irregular quadrangular plan, with a large portico on the main facade punctuated by loggias with round arches, facing a small inner cloister with a well. The transept is surmounted by a small circular dome, while the bell tower, in the Lecce Baroque style, rises as a fine decorated tower. The Romanesque church, attached to the complex, has three naves divided by regular pillars, and still retains a strong original layout.
Faith and tradition
St. Vitus is revered for his thaumaturgical gifts, particularly for curing chorea (known as “St. Vitus’ dance”) and tarantula bite. According to an ancient custom, fragments of the saint’s knee, once kept in the abbey, secreted a liquid used by the monks to cure poisonous bites and trance states. Even today, popular devotion is renewed every year on June 14, when the statue of the saint leaves in procession by sea from San Vito to land in Cala Paura, greeted by hundreds of faithful. The procession continues to the city center, where the mayor symbolically hands over the keys of the city to the patron saint.
The abbey today
Since 2020, the Abbey of St. Vitus Martyr has also captivated large television audiences, serving as the backdrop for numerous scenes in the series The Investigations of Lolita Lobosco. Its spectacular location, overlooking the Adriatic Sea, the charm of its architecture and the legends that surround it make it a must-see destination for visitors to Puglia today, amid faith, art and timeless beauty.
