Putignano - Tourism, history, food and wine, art and culture.

Struggles in defense of autonomy
In 1559, according to the decree of King Ladislaus, the university of Noci claimed that all landowners within 3 miles of the town would pay tithes and vigils, as it had long been done by nocesi towards Mottola. The University of Putignano opposed harshly, both because the municipality had existed since time immemorial, before Noci, and because by the intercession of kings and princes he had been licensed to "water, wood, graze, sow and spend the night" throughout the territory of Mottola which also included Noci. The Noceses attempted judgments against the Putignanesi, but they were always wrong, only in 1703 they succeeded in getting reason, but the Putignanesi resorted in appeal to the Provincial audience and I didn't succeed in sprouting the victory, but they also saw the mayor of Noci in prison.
There were long quarrels and rebellions, the minds of the Putignanesi in particular, were exasperated and had feelings of revenge, because if the Noceses were sighted and captured while chopping wood or taking water from the Putignanese territory, they were treated humanely, vice versa to the Putignanesi defendants of crime, assets and assets were confiscated as well as being arrested and brutally abused. The opportunity for revenge was not lacking, in fact on the occasion of the arrest of some nocesi the Putignanese people tried in every way to taunt them, but the Mayor Dr. Giannarcangelo Miccolis filled them with delicacies, against the opinion of the population. A farmer Giuseppe Castellana called Campagna stirred up the crowd, had the gates of the city closed and took up arms followed by the common people and went in search of the Mayor, the Governor and the Lawyer of the University to kill them. As luck would have it, a carpenter told the Castellana that the Noceses were on the doorstep and that therefore the presence of the whole people was required to defend the city.

"Scannacornacchia"
From October 9th to November 9th, in 1781 a band of infamous people, from Castellana, almost daily disturbed the quiet town. It was captained by Niccolò Spinosa, a Castilian man better known as Scannacornacchia, who came out of jail, in which his wife had been imprisoned on average, forming a bullying and gangster group. Sacannacornacchia died on sale smuggling, strong of protection by the Count of Conversano, kidnapped many women and released or imprisoned some people at his unquestionable judgment. The dott. Oronzo Martinelli, born in Lecce, but an intervention Putignanese, involves 150 people to face Scannacornacchia, the band was defeated, thanks to the joint revolt of the citizens. In 1782 Spinosa Scannacornacchia died murdered by his lover Domenica Pugliese known as Falcona. Still other revolts were had in the country the crowd set fires and made an uproar in the whole country and near the Town Hall. Injured and dead were the direct result of the riots that occurred in the area.

Proud Independence
It is narrated in the writings of Pietro Gioia that "In Putignano, men are educated as children to be parks, strong in spirit, hardworking and serious in the entrance and in the tone of their voice ... they are these ends of understanding and brought to the difficult. It will seem incredible what Vincenzo Oliva of Putignano did, in Naples in 1662 under the Viceroy Count of Pennarda, however it cost him his life. However, he placed himself at the head of the nobles and set himself up as Duke of Saxony and Lieutenant General of the kingdom, and created his ministers and promulgated edicts and removed gabelles "

A popular legend tells that Frederick II arrived in the town, seeing the inhabitants who looked at him calmly, approached some of them and reproached them for not being greeted. Then an old man heard the scolded said to the King "We are in our house and we greet no one, you, our guest, have the task of greeting"
This behavioral attitude was the fruit of a secular habit of freedom, on the part of the Putignanesi, in fact the dominion of the Beneddetini first and then of the Balì then, was more a formal domain than a real one, rather bland also for the presence on the territory, for which the citizens having to administer themselves, ill conceived by obligations and impositions, this is why the territory was often the place of riots. For this reason, thanks to a true spirit of freedom and independence, we can say that the Putignanesi have created a community society on their own, thanks to their own strength.