Pezze di Greco (BR) la città del Presepe vivente

Pezze di Greco (Brindisi): The Town of the Living Nativity Scene

Pezze di Greco is a hamlet of approximately 6,000 residents, part of the municipality of Fasano in the province of Brindisi.
Strategically located near the sea, the Itria Valley, and the Terra di Bari, Pezze di Greco is renowned primarily for its magnificent Living Nativity Scene. For 26 years, this event has brought together almost the entire community to recreate the emotions and traditions of bygone eras. The setting for this unique spectacle is the breathtaking Trappeto ravine.
The town's origins trace back to the industrious efforts of farmers, primarily from Fasano but also from Cisternino, who came to cultivate and improve this land around the year 1823. At that time, much of what is now Pezze di Greco was part of an estate owned by the Greco family, originally from Martina Franca. The estate, called "Masseria Greco," was a vast, treeless expanse used for growing wheat, barley, fodder, and legumes. These plots of land were commonly referred to as pezze (from "appezzamenti," meaning plots of land), and combined with the owner's name, they gave rise to the town's name: Pezze di Greco. To improve the area, Mr. Greco divided the land into lots and leased them to tenant farmers. 
Eventually, some farmers decided to settle on their land, leading to the construction of trulli (traditional Apulian stone dwellings). 
The Greco family line eventually ended due to a lack of male heirs. The estate's main building was purchased by a commission tasked with building the parish church and was transferred to the parish priest of the time, with the condition that construction begin within a year.
Pezze di Greco's two most significant landmarks are the Monument to the Fallen of World War I, erected in 1931 by the town's youth, and the "Rizzola" fountain, a symbol and gathering place for the entire community.
In addition to the famous Living Nativity Scene, other key events in Pezze di Greco include the Patronal Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, held in mid-July, and the trade fair of Saint Francis on October 4. The latter features an exhibition of agricultural and gardening tools, as well as typical agro-food products, in the town's main square.

For more information about the Living Nativity Scene of Pezze di Greco, click here.