Noci, located about an hour from Casa Isabella, owes its name to the many walnut trees that once grew abundantly in the area. It sits halfway between Bari and Taranto, on a pleasant hill in the Murgia region.
The origins of Noci are very ancient: in 565 AD, Conon, captain of Emperor Justin II, built a small military citadel on the hill — where Noci stands today — to block the advance of the Goths. In 591, the Abbey of Barsento was erected for the monks of St. Equitius.
The settlement expanded around the year 1100, when survivors from Mottola, destroyed by the governor of Taranto, resettled here.
The Historic Center
The town is divided into an old district, with narrow winding streets clustered around the Mother Church, and a more modern area, with wide, regular streets lined with a rich variety of trees (oaks, pines, linden, and more).
The abbey now houses an internationally renowned manuscript restoration center.
The tourist itinerary begins with the Church of Santa Maria del Barsento, built in a dominant position on the top of a hill overlooking the Canale di Pirro, at 440 meters above sea level.
Next is the Mother Church, built in the 14th century by order of Philip of Anjou and later modified over time. Dedicated to St. Mary of the Nativity, the church combines Gothic origins with later Classical-style elements and features an impressive bell tower.
Inside, visitors can admire remarkable treasures: the polychrome baptismal font (14th century), the sculptural group of the Madonna with Child by Stefano da Putignano, a striking Baroque Crucifix, and 14 large canvases of the Via Crucis from the Neapolitan school, painted with Caravaggesque light. The presbytery houses a precious polyptych (nine saints) crafted in local stone and wood.
The itinerary concludes with the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Croce, which preserves a 16th-century fresco of Mary and Child by an unknown artist.
