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Saint Mary of Pulsano

In a scenery of grey rocks on the over 200 meter deep clips, at 9 km of the living centre of Monte San Angelo, you can find the abbey of Saint Mary of Pulsano, that on this massive rocks seems to be a guard of the Gulf ofManfredonia. Built in the VI century on the hills of Pulsano for the desire of the pope friar Saint Gregory Magno.

The Abbey has been during the centuries – with alternate histories events- place of friars, anchorites and coenobites, which have been dedicated to the contemplations and the accessions. Around the building you can find numerous Hermitages (for now there have been assessed 24) of which some are really located in inaccessible places.

The hermits who lived in these cells were without any doubt in communication between each other, from the moment that some hermitages were dedicated to the community life (of cult and living) and at collective work (a hermitage has even been used as a mill); furthermore the Hermitages – of which some of them were with frescos- are communicated by a net of paths and flight of steps and of a real and proper “water supply net” of canals excavated in the rocks for carrying the water.

The site has seen incursions of different monastic orders until the abandonment in 1969, which brought to a progressive degree of the hermitages and a process of grave artistic impoverishment of the Abbey, at cause of thefts of unknowns and vandalises acts.

The monastery of Saint Mary of Pulsano was suspended in 1806 and after a long abandonment period, on the 20th December 1997 has settled a monastic community that is incardinate in the parish of Manfredonia and was virtual Latin and Byzantine in the liturgical and spiritual expressions.

Today the friars with steadiness and passion take care of the hermitages and they guarantee, where it is possible - as for the difficulties how it is located and there is not always easy access- the benefits.