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troia |
| Frequent buses make the short ride (from either Lucera or Fóggia) to
TRÓIA , 18km due south of Lucera. The locals seem curiously blasé as to
the origin of their village's name; it means "slut" in Italian, which
probably has its origins in Helen of Troy, but no-one is able to offer a
logical connection with the village. Whatever the reason, the Tróiani
atone for the name by having five patron saints, whose statues are
paraded around town in a procession every July 9. At all other times of the year the highlight in Tróia - an otherwise quiet, dusty village - is the fine Duomo , an intriguing eleventh-century blend of Byzantine and Apulian-Romanesque styles, with a generous hint of Saracen influence, too. The great bronze doors are covered with reliefs of animals and biblical figures, while above, surrounded by a frenzy of carved lions frozen in stone, is an extraordinary rose window. Distinctly Saracen in flavour, the window resembles a finely worked piece of oriental ivory, being composed of eleven stone panels, each one delicately carved. There's more exact detail inside too, including a curiously decorated pulpit and some ornate capitals. |