Galatina

Galatina (Ας Πέτρο; San Pietru), known before the unification of Italy as San Pietro in Galatina, is a town and comune in the Province of Lecce in Apulia, southern Italy. It is situated about 21 km south of the city of Lecce.

Main sights

 * The late Romanesque church of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria, built in 1390 by Raimondello del Balzo Orsini, count of Soleto, with a fine portal and rose window. The interior contains frescoes by Francesco d'Arezzo (1435). The apse contains the fine mausoleum of the son of the founder, a canopy supported by four columns, with his statue beneath it.
 * The Baroque church of San Pietro (also known as Mother Church), rebuilt from 1633 on a previous Greek-rite edifice.
 * The Pupa, a fountain in local limestone

In the neighbourhood is the small church of San Paolo. It houses a well which, according to tradition, was able to heal people bitten by poisonous tarantulas (those bitten are called tarantati or pizzicati in the local dialect).

Transportation
Galatina has a station on the Ferrovie Sud-Est line to Lecce. Road connections include the SS16 Adriatica state highway, the SS101 state road, also to Lecce, and the SS 613 Brindisi-Lecce highway.

Energy
Near Galatina is the static inverter plant of HVDC Italy-Greece.

Twin towns

 * Novi Grad, Bosnia-Herzegovina, since 1997
 * 🇬🇷 Sapes, Greece, since 1999