Rotondella.
The town is very old. It was mentioned as ‘Rotunda
Marinis’ in 1261, a name probably due to its
particular position, opposite the Jonian Sea.
There are buildings enriched by beautiful portals.
The mother church dedicated to Santa Maria delle
Grazie, which contains the wooden statues of Mary
Immaculate, Our Lady of Graces and St. Anthony,
is very beautiful and so is the church of Sant'Antonio
da Padova, belonging to the Franciscan monastery
of the ‘Zoccolanti’ monks.
The church and the monastery, built in 1652, were
inhabited by monks until 1862, when they became
state property owing to the Siccardi law. The construction
contains a very beautiful polychrome marble altar
and some statues portraying St. Francis of Assisi,
St. Pasquale Bairo and St. Rosa from Lima.
The town beaches, visited by a lot of tourists,
have been improved through the creation of a lot
of facilities for tourists.
