The Paolotti hypogeum

Dug out of cliff rocks, the Palotti hypogeum in Grottaglie features a millstone, several troughs and small pits for oil collection.

This production complex is located inside the Palotti monastery which houses a beautiful frescoed cloister, one of the few still intact in the whole of Puglia.

The first hypogea also comprised tombs located in the church, few cisterns and a network of caves, behind the church, made up of several cavities, some of which of remarkable dimensions, used in ancient times as pottery craft shops, tanneries, oil mills and snow houses.

In the caves behind the church, currently visitable, used to be a tannery in whose tanks the hides were soaked for treating.

The cave chambers still accommodate animal troughs, mainly for pigs, which were intended for slaughter.