Monastero degli Olivetani, Romanesque monastery near Lecce cemetery, Italy
Monastero degli Olivetani is a Romanesque monastery near Lecce featuring two rectangular courtyards with columns carved from local limestone. The second courtyard contains a decorative well supported by Corinthian spiral columns.
Count Tancredi d'Altavilla ordered construction of this monastery in 1174 and Black Benedictines initially managed it. Olivetan monks took over the monastery in 1494.
The monastery walls hold frescoes that show scenes of monastic daily routines and reflect different periods of religious artistic practice.
The monastery now houses the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Salento in restored original spaces. Visitors can explore the structure and view different sections of the complex.
Beneath the complex lies an underground chamber more than 20 meters deep that originally functioned as both a cistern and a nymphaeum. This chamber included a specialized basin for water purification.
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