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This Natural Park includes several ravines and deep rocky gorges of karstic origin, made by the corrosive action of the water flowing from the Murge Plateau towards the sea.

The caves of the ravines were chosen for human settlement from the Neolithic period onward until the 1950s – they were mostly used during the medieval time and were arranged as real villages dedicated to local agriculture. The excavation material was recycled to build houses, fortifications, and dry retaining walls: the latter, a most ingenious system for collecting and storing the precious rainwater.

The rupestrian villages of Ginosa, Mottola, Grottaglie, Crispiano, Laterza, Statte, Castellaneta, Massafra, and Palagianello are full of interesting churches, crypts and sanctuaries.
In Massafra and Mottola, visitors can admire the richest and best-preserved examples of rock painting and the typical architecture of sacred places, carved directly into the rock.

FLORA AND FAUNA

The heights and slopes of the ravines, as well as their peculiar microclimate, have allowed the conservation of habitats rich in flora and fauna.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)