THE MADONNA OF CALENTANO'S SANCTUARY

Situated about eight kilometers from Ruvo di Puglia, The Madonna Of Calentano's Sanctuary rises along the slope of a natural rise of the Murgia, at five hundred feet above the sea.
According to our renowned citizen Giovanni Jatta, during the Angevin Age, Calentano was one of the most important rural home of the Ruvo fiefdom.
Charles I of Anjou granted this rural home to Rodulfus de Colant, feudal lord from Ruvo. “Calentanus” probably comes from the name of his owner De Colant. It means “De Colant property”, as “anus” means “possession”.
Some documents reveal something astonishing: at the beginning of the fourteenth century the rural home was a domus templare.
A templar cross is one of the most important testimonies about Templar presence in Calentano.
In the current sacristy the frescos of the apse are the work of a “Templar Master”: the German expert K. Weitzmann.
After Templar order suppression, the Sanctuary showed its “Marian vocation” thanks to a fresco that has been and continues to be a place of worship. It is located behind the altar of the church that is marked by pointed arches.
This fresco probably dates from the fourteenth century and in the middle of it you can see the Madonna with the blessing Christ-Child.  
After the conquest of 1350 by Roberto Sanseverino, the surviving inhabitants of Calentano retreated in Ruvo because they considered the country an unsafe place without any kind of fortifications. Near the Cathedral of Ruvo di Puglia, they built a church dedicated to the Virgin of Annunciation. Nowadays there is a small church next to a group of houses. At one time they were intended to house the chaplain.
In 1553 it was decided to organize the Feast of Annunciation on “feria tertia” (the third day) after Easter; the clergy obliged to go to Calentano for the High Mass, which was celebrated by the diocesan Bishop.
Besides the Annunciation Festive Mass, the devotion to the Madonna of Calentano has never faded.
On Sundays, groups of young people and many families go to the old sanctuary to spend a few hours peacefully.

The Madonna of Calentano's Sanctuary