Church of St. Vitus the Martyr
Cent. 20th
A chapel dedicated to St. Vitus already existed in the 1600s, on the road leading to Palombaio and in the 1752 land registry of Palo del Colle it is registered as “Cappella del Glorioso S. Vito” (Chapel of the Glorious St. Vitus). In 1921, however, a church was built in his honour, thanks to the donations of FrancescoMuscatiello, who wished to fulfil the wishes of an ancestor, miraculously healed by the saint. The church finds itself in a populous neighbourhood today and was given the title of parish by the Archbishop of Bari, Monsignor Augusto Curi in 1931. In 1981, on the fiftieth anniversary of the parish, benefactors donated eight bells to the church to call the faithful to prayer. The gable façade is inspired by the Puglia Romanic style and displays a harmonious geometry: three rose windows are situated on the upper part of the façade while above the entrance is a small prothyrum framing a mosaic depicting the saint. The three-storey bell tower at the back of the church continues to mark time in the town. The interior of the church is divided into three naves and is covered by barrel vaults with lunettes.
Here, the light filters delicately down onto the recesses housing the statues of St. Anthony, St. Francis, St. Michael Archangel, Our Lady of the Well and the Immaculate Virgin. In the heart of the apse, a coloured mosaic depicts Christ Risen, dressed in a white tunic and red cloak, surrounded by golden rays on a sky composed of blue and golden tiles. However, it is the three-dimensional statue of St. Vitus that captures the eye and the heart. Every year on 15th June, the balconies of the town are decorated with flowers and an atmosphere of ancient times prevails. The simulacrum of the saint is carried around the roads of Palo del Colle accompanied by prayers and devotional songs. This parish has organised many initiatives including the journal “Il Faro Palese”, founded by don Giuseppe Di Mauro. It was originally a parish magazine but for fifty years now it has been the monthly voice of Palo and the neighbouring towns, even reaching emigrants all over the world.