In 1658 sailors with plague landed in Bari, which immediately infected over 20 thousand inhabitants of the regional capital, bringing them to death. In the seventeenth century Odoardo Vaaz, a local lord, with the intention of wanting to remove the plague from the village and to make a vow to the Blessed Virgin of Constantinople, ordered the painting of the building, monuments and churches by adding an azure color with quicklime, probably copper sulphate. The plague was thus removed from the town and a small church was built, dedicated precisely to the Most Holy Mary of Constantinople.
In the 60s the Milanese painter Vittorio Viviani, passing from Casamassima, remains enchanted by this unique feature in the Apulian scenario and immortalizes scenes of daily life in the village in some of his paintings, defining Casamassima "Il Paese Azzurro".
Walking through the alleys of the ancient village it is frequent to encounter layers and traces of blue lime on ancient buildings, evidence of the Casamassimese past, of the history and uniqueness of this center which, unlike the classic white Apulian villages, has various shades of blue.
The "Blue Country" project is an element on which for several years more and more experts have been studying the creation of a tourist brand, accompanied by the Pro Loco, local associations, citizens and institutions such as the LAG SEB, the Association "Authentic Villages of Italy ", the Puglia Region with regional and provincial tourist bodies
The Blue town - Casamassima Authentic Villages
Address: Piazza Santa Croce, 70010
Phone: 3450491067
Site:
http://comune.casamassima.ba.it/Location inserted by
Fabio Dentamaro