Poggiardo (Vaste). Santo Stefano

The ancient sanctuary of St. Stephan is to be identified with some archeological ruins in the area of Fondo Giuliano, 2 km North from Vaste, in the territory of Poggiardo (Lecce). The archeological diggings started in 1980 in the area, where a little rocky church existed, dating back to the 11th Century. The church was entitled to “Saints Stephans”, owing to the presence of at least three frescoes (13th-14th Century) with the Byzantin icon of the Protomaryr. The so-called “first church” of the Vaste archeological complex, identified as a martyrium, can thus be considered a late antique Sanctuary devoted to the St. Stephan’s cult – a devotion still very popular in the territory of Salento