Presentazione del volume: In oblivione iacio - Viaggio nei segreti delle chiese di Bari

Journey into the secrets of the churches of Bari: On July 31 at Villa Longo de Bellis, the presentation of the book by Federica Calabrese and Giancarlo Liuzzi to rediscover the sacred places of the Bari area

**Thursday, July 31, 2025**, at 8:30 PM, at the picturesque **Villa Longo de Bellis** (via Tenente Noviello n.3D – Palese, Bari), the presentation of the book *“In oblivione iacio – Journey into the secrets of the churches of Bari”* (quorum editions) will take place. The event is promoted by APS Martinus (an association responsible for the restoration of the millenary church of San Martino in Bari Vecchia) with the support of the Directorate General for Education, Research and Cultural Institutions of the Ministry of Culture.

The book, curated by archaeologist and PhD in history **Federica Calabrese** and expert in local history, art, and architecture **Giancarlo Liuzzi**, is a true act of love for a stratified city, often only observed on the surface. It is a book that guides us into the city's invisible sacredness, a Bari that remains unseen, made of silences, shadows, symbols worn by time, and often neglected. Hidden or forgotten places of worship, yet extraordinarily alive, guardians of millennia-old stories and precious architecture and artworks.

It is an invitation to slow down, to enter these buildings on tiptoe, which beyond their religious function, preserve memories, legends, architecture, artworks, rituals, and collective identities. **Twenty-four places of worship – from the most famous to those almost invisible – become the stages of a journey that crosses the whole of Bari**: from the old city (with the millenary church of San Martino, San Giovanni Crisostomo, and the monastery of San Benedetto) to the neighborhoods (convent of San Giuseppe, church of Santa Fara and San Pasquale Baylon), from the countryside (with the rock churches of Santa Candida, strada Martinez, and the rural churches of Annunziata and Madonna della Grotta) to the urban suburbs (the churches of “Purgatorio” in Modugno and Bitonto and the Veterana of Bitetto) and, in conclusion, an extraordinary place resulting from an ambitious "oriental" project left incomplete.

Each chapter, accompanied by photographs and historical images, is a micro-narrative, with engaging and rigorous writing, capable of balancing historical-artistic depth and storytelling. The curators focus on what is usually unnoticed in these places: paintings and artworks, inscriptions, stone elements, popular usages, architectural transformations, and even anecdotes handed down orally. The result is a surprising portrait of the city, far from clichés and very close to its truest and most authentic soul. The invitation is not only to visit these places but to feel them, to inhabit them with awareness. As the authors write, *“in these places the sacredness of the everyday is reborn, a call to the city's deeper essence and its living, pulsing soul”*, a statement that resonates strongly today, at a time when cultural heritage often risks becoming mere background, rather than a protagonist.

The event on July 31, presented by journalist and writer **Marino Pagano**, will feature greetings from **Carlo Longo de Bellis**, owner of the villa, followed by interventions from the author Giancarlo Liuzzi, architect **Gerardo Milillo**, president of APS Martinus, historian **Vito Ricci**, readings by dialect poet **Michele Aprile**, and musical interludes by **Rodolfo Ventrella**. An opportunity to dialogue with the authors, peruse the pages of the book, and – why not – embark on a new journey among the often unknown wonders of our city.

Free entry
Event link: https://fb.me/e/6xFmLVTH3
For info and contacts: martinus.spazioartetempo@gmail.com
Web: fb.me/e/6xfmlvth3