Between stones and stories
of an authentic village

At the Borsa Internazionale del Turismo in Milan, within the official stand of the Regione Puglia, the initiative “Cuori di Sapori” was presented as part of the strategic development path of Turi Borgo Antico, entrusted to Graf Srl.

Turi thrives on a continuous succession of events that, throughout the year, tell stories of tradition, community and identity. Food festivals, folk celebrations, cultural events and moments of conviviality transform the town into a lively, shared space, where each season brings new opportunities to connect and to discover the character of the area.

Behind the grilles of the Monastery of Santa Chiara in Turi, in the 17th century marked by plague, famine and poverty, the lives of the Poor Clare nuns unfold amid hunger, silence and strict discipline. The Santa Visita of 1659 reveals accounts in deficit, lost incomes and food reduced to the bare minimum. Burdened by costly dowries, illness and an ever more rigid enclosure, the nuns endured: a fragile yet resilient community that transformed deprivation into a silent testimo

The monument to Sant’Oronzo in Turi, created between 1916 and 1917, was born from a vow made by Gennaro Valerio after an unexpected recovery. Carved in tuff stone, the statue embodies a deep, popular devotion, expressed through episcopal symbols and the words engraved on the base: “I will protect and save this city.” An artwork that weaves together faith, memory and emigration, becoming a collective promise and a powerful symbol of the community’s identity.

In Turi, inside the Mother Church, the Renaissance takes shape in the stone carved by Stefano da Putignano. Sculptor and architectus of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, he gives voice to a concrete, popular devotion through Madonnas, Saints and monumental groups. In a Puglia marked by wars and hardship, his art blends Romanesque roots with Renaissance language in an authentic and powerful style, one that has remained alive through the centuries.