THE CHURCHES OF THE FOUNDING PEOPLES

The regular division of the town into quarters served to orderly arrange within the walls the six rural communities that became its first inhabitants: the people of the Mori, and those of Ganghereto, Pozzo, Terraio, Pernina, and Cave.
When these populations moved inside the castle during the 14th century, they brought with them their popular and religious traditions, rebuilding within the new walls the churches of the villages they had left behind, often preserving the original toponym in the new church’s dedication. This allowed each group to retain its own identity around its church and within its neighborhood. Thus were built the churches of San Niccolò in Ganghereto, San Bartolomeo in Pozzo, Santa Maria in Pernina (which also served the people of the Cave), San Biagio among the Mori, and San Niccolò in Terraio, the latter now lost. Alongside these parish churches of the various communities stood the church dedicated to the Virgin, which belonged to the whole town.

The central square, the meeting point and the point of convergence of the two main axes that physically and visually connected the urban layout with the town walls, was also the beating heart of the new settlement.

It stood in a perfectly central position with respect to the four quadrants into which the town was divided, each becoming home to the six communities that formed the first nucleus of Terranuova’s inhabitants.

The 3 itineraries

Select a itinerary to discover its history. QR CODES on routes help you to explore any points of interest.

Itinerary 1

ITINERARY OF THE WALLS

The ‘new town’ was designed according to Vitruvius’ scheme of the Roman castrum. It wassurrounded by walls with towers at the corners and smaller turrets along the perimeter, as well astowers over the four gates, each positioned at the midpoint of every side.

Itinerary 2

THE CHURCHES OF THE FOUNDING PEOPLES

The division of the town into quarters was designed to accommodate in an orderly way the six rural communities from the surrounding countryside who became the first inhabitants of Terranuova: the communities of Mori, Ganghereto, Pozzo, Terraio, Pernina, and Cave, each with its own church(Pernina and Cave shared a single building). At the center, with its façade facing the main square, was built the church of the entire community, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Itinerary 3

Palaces, Oratories and Hospices

Along this itinerary we find public and noble palaces, hospices and monasteries, other religioussites, and houses characteristic of the town’s original architecture.