What most strikes the visitor’s eye is the imposing exterior masses and the coherent unity of the parts: the Basilica and the convent form a marvelous harmonious complex that rises, white with lime and rich in architectural motifs, in a vast square. The facade of the church, slightly projecting from the rest of the building, rises powerfully on two enormous pillars that extend into the second bay to support the composite cornice, upon which rests a Baroque-style pediment. Above the central door, a large window opens, creating a dynamic interplay of masses. Between the door and the large window, which illuminates the interior, sits an elegant niche housing a small statue of the Madonna, carved in stone by the master craftsman Giuseppe Vitulli of Ceglie in 1769. Behind the low volutes of the pediment, the modest and slender bell tower emerges, topped by a small dome with Moorish influences.
The sanctuary, located a few hundred meters from the Well of Santa Maria, has a basilica plan with a Latin cross, featuring a single nave, side chapels, and a dome at the crossing of the nave and transept. The adjacent convent appears externally as a rectangular block, marked by pilasters and string courses, lightened in the upper section by a loggia; inside, the cloister stands out with its smooth surfaces and rounded edges.
**Description:** The gilded and painted wooden statue depicts the standing figure of Mary in a star-studded robe and mantle; in her arms, she holds a plump Child, who carries a silver scepter in his hands. Both wear a precious silver crown on their heads. The statue is the work of an 18th-century Apulian carver and is documented since 1769.
**In use since:** 1769
**Image:** Statue
**Description:** A mural painting depicting the Madonna and Child on clouds; the Child sits on the left arm of the Mother, blesses in the Latin manner, and holds a scroll. According to tradition, the fresco belonged to a Basilian monastic community; however, the formal characteristics of the painting do not allow for a dating earlier than the early 18th century, coinciding with the rise of devotion to the Madonna del Pozzo. The wooden statue is the work of an 18th-century Apulian carver and is documented since 1769.
**In use since:** 1705
**Epiphany:** A fresco depicting the Madonna and Child. A wooden statue depicting the Madonna and Child.
**Image:** Statue, Painting
**Location:** Other
**Notes on the collection:** Sources mention precious donations that enriched the venerated image shortly after its discovery in 1705.
**Types of ex-votos:** Painted tablets, Jewelry, Prosthetics (real or represented), Other
**Current preservation:** Ex-voto room, attached to the sanctuary.
P. Serafino Montorio recalls two miracles performed by the Madonna del Pozzo of Capurso: one concerning the healing of a blind woman from Bitonto who, in gratitude, donated two gold earrings to the Virgin; however, ungratefully, she complained to a relative that the Madonna had restored her sight only because she had received the precious gift—so the next day, the woman awoke blind again, with the gold earrings she had offered to the Virgin. Montorio also describes the salvation of a poor, honest wife whom her jealous husband attempted to kill with a dagger. The invocation of the Madonna del Pozzo at the moment of injury allowed her to remain unharmed by the cruel husband’s blows.
In 1705, a priest from Capurso, Don Domenico Tanzella, gravely ill, saw the Madonna alongside St. Peter of Alcantara, who promised him healing if he drank water from the Well of Santa Maria and built a chapel in her honor. Miraculously healed, the priest, along with his brother and two companions, would have gone to the cistern on the last Sunday of August, where the discovered painting would have miraculously detached from the wall.
The painter Converso, accused of stealing some precious donations offered to the Madonna del Pozzo, defended himself by describing the scheme orchestrated by Tanzella to simulate the miraculous discovery of the painting. Converso, at Tanzella’s instigation, would have painted the fresco himself, using special techniques to age the image.
In 1852, the venerated image of the Madonna del Pozzo was crowned by Cardinal Mario Mattei, Archpriest of the Vatican Patriarchal Basilica.
Pope Pius IX granted a perpetual daily plenary indulgence in 1849.
In 1867, after the suppression of religious orders, the Municipality obtained jurisdiction over the church and the adjoining convent from the Fund for Worship, repurposing them for public use until 1920.
Via Madonna del Pozzo, 1, 70010 Capurso BA, Italy
