MOTTOLA (MUTYLA, MOTULA). — An ancient diocese, suffragane of Taranto, in the province of Lecce. After the ancient city of Mateola fell into ruins, the new city was rebuilt in 1023 under the name Mutyla or Motula, today Mottola; at that time it was erected as a diocese, and its first bishop died in 1040.
The city was sacked at the end of the 15th century. In 1557 Bishop S. Rebba was created cardinal and retained the diocese in administration. The last bishop was M. Palmieri in 1798.
Pope Pius VII, in 1818 with the letter *De utiliori*, suppressed the diocese, uniting it with that of Castellaneta. The ancient cathedral dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary Assumed into Heaven dates from the 15th century, but only a few small arches remain on the north side; the rest was transformed in the 16th century. Near Mottola are some Byzantine crypts; the most notable are those of St. Gregory, with three naves and three apses, and of St. Nicholas, with remarkable frescoes.
1487
MOTOLA — MOULINS