Poggiorsini

Poggiorsini is a hillside municipality of ancient origins, with 1,290 inhabitants.
Set in a picturesque landscape, it offers visitors the chance to enjoy the unique Murgia landscape and to taste simple and genuine local products. In the 17th century, it became part of the Orsini family's property. They transformed the small rural village into a true urban centre, giving rise to the town's name. It was ruled by this family until the abolition of feudalism, decreed by Napoleonic laws in the early 19th century, and it was later annexed to Gravina in Puglia, becoming administratively independent in 1957. Its notable monuments include the new parish church of Maria Santissima Addolorata, erected after the earthquake in the 1930s, which caused serious damage to the previous church which had been built in the 18th century and was dedicated to “Santa Maria dei Sette Dolori” (Holy Mary of the Seven Sorrows). Places of interest include the old village, which developed around the Orsini farmhouse and, around the town, the various masserie (farmsteads), focal points in the ancient farming civilisation. The countryside around Poggiorsini has many olive groves, vineyards and vast fields for cereal crops; the wild flora includes more than 50 species of orchids.