La City of San Marco in Lamis It most likely dates back to the 1578th-XNUMXth century. when some shepherds found refuge in the marshes (lamae) of the area to escape the incursions of the Saracens. For the first centuries it lived in the shadow of the monastery of San Giovanni in Lamis and began to have autonomy only in XNUMX when the headquarters of the abbey was transferred from the monastery to the Palazzo Badiale.
In the eighteenth century there was a notable demographic and building development, while in the early twentieth century there was a further increase in the population due to the development of agriculture and craftsmanship and refined workmanship in iron, wood and gold.
His is very characteristic historic center (la Padula) located downstream, with circular streets located near the Mother Church. The most common building typology is composed of accommodation with a single room, consisting of one or a maximum of two floors, which is accessed via the mugnali, with a single view onto the street.
From the opposite side two Sanctuaries (Stignano and San Matteo Apostolo) they frame an area located in the Gargano Park Authority with a rich woodland heritage of great landscape, naturalistic and scientific value. Among the most popular paths is the Fajarama Valley, a small karst incision that flows into the larger Stignano valley near the Convent of S. Matteo.
But it's definitely with the Sanctuary of San Matteo Apostolo, in particular, that the City of San Marco in Lamis finds its historical location.
Singular is the presence of two patron saints of the city: the Virgin of Sorrows, known for the solemn and characteristic celebration of the Fracchie who accompany her during the Good Friday procession and Saint Mark the Evangelist. In this regard, some have linked the origin of the cult and the town to the existence of two bells and to the founder. This is the "Magister Manfredinus", active in Venice around the 300s, now a well-known author and founder of six bells, including one of the two bronze bells that adorn the bell tower of the Church of the Madonna delle Grazie of San Marco in Lamis. The San Marco bell, which bears the same signature as the others "Magister Manfredinus me decisit", according to what we could define as a legend, was transported to the Gargano center by the Venetian merchants who dominated the Adriatic coasts and who were its founders.
Erected byBenedictine order around the 10th century. AD with the title of "San Giovanni Battista de Lama", the monastery was responsible for the foundation of several nearby villages, such as San Marco in Lamis and San Giovanni Rotondo
The building, today monument of national historic interest, has undergone various vicissitudes linked to local history. In 1177 the abbey possessions were granted as a dowry to the daughter of Henry II of England, by the Norman king William II of Hauteville. At the end of the XNUMXth century, burdened by debt, the monastery was sold toCistercian order. In 1327, Pope John XXII assigned the administration of the assets to the archbishop of Siponto who became its first commendatory abbot.
In 1578 Pope Gregory XIII entrusted the sanctuary to the order of friars minor who found the relic of the tooth of the Evangelist Saint Matthew coming from Salerno and promoted its cult. Acquired by the Municipality of San Marco in Lamis in 1867, in 1905 it was once again entrusted to the minor friars. The sale was completed in 1939. Its notoriety is linked not only to relic of the tooth of the Apostle Saint Matthew, to one wooden statue from the first half of the 1300s displayed on the main altar of the church, already depicting Christ and which was transformed into Saint Matthew the Apostle in 1596.
The location of the Sanctuary along the historical route of Via Francigena, has always made it a stopover and refreshment stop on the way to or from Monte Sant'Angelo and more generally to and from the Holy Land. There Via Francigena, as well as by pilgrims, is today frequented by groups of walkers who follow the network of naturalistic paths inside the Gargano National Park and who find hospitality and refreshment inside the sanctuary.
Furthermore, the Sanctuary of San Matteo is particularly dear to transumanti, whose sheep tracks coming from Abruzzo and Molise touch the territory in several places.
In addition to its welcoming activity for pilgrims and as a center of spirituality, the sanctuary of San Matteo is known as a cultural center due to the presence of museums (archaeological and Museum of History, Liturgy and Art with hundreds of votive), of the Provincial Franciscan Library “P. Antonio Fania”, recently renewed and recognized by “exceptional cultural interest”, and Provincial Historical Archive of the minor friars of Puglia and Molise, hosted at the convent.
