The Castello di Acquarica del Capo is a structure of Angevin-Norman age and appears as an imposing complex of great historical-cultural importance. The oldest core, built by the Norman lords Bonsecolo, was square in shape, with each side measuring 40 meters, and consisted of a wall reinforced by four towers of which only one is retained. Remnants of this ancient building seem detectable in the remains of the facade of Via Roma. However, nothing can prove that Giovanni Antonio Orsini, owner of the castle in the fifteenth century, had completely rebuilt the defensive structure or restored that of the Norman period. The interior of the building houses, on the ground floor, some rooms formerly used as deposits, while the rooms upstairs were used for noble residence. Inside, traces of the ...

For its austere square frame, some historians trace its origin even up to Roman times, while the upper floor is attributed to the Norman period. During the Angevin period, the castle, in an irregular trapezoidal plan with corner towers, was renovated several times and Charles of Anjou, during his visit to Salento in 1273, stayed as a guest of Count Adenolfo XI Aquinas. In 1537, following the occupation of the city by the barbarians led by the Algerian pirate Barbarossa, the castle was severely damaged: two towers were destroyed as much as the rest of the west wing, the ground floor and first floor. The manor, rebuilt in 1642 by Count Vaaz de Andrada, has undergone a major renovation in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century by the will of the owners of the time, Nicola and ...

The Lucugnano Castle, also known as Palazzo Baronale Alfarano Capece, presents on its body the main characteristics of a civil building of the late Renaissance and the crenellated tower behind those of the defensive structures of earlier centuries.   The tower, with a square plan, is crowned by corbels and is equipped with battlements. The residence, made up of twenty-two rooms on two floors, has a severe Renaissance prospect, characterized by decorative elements in geometrical pattern that adorn the architraves and cornices. The top part of the structure is crowned by a frieze consisting of a series of vertical grooves in dented cornice, all interspersed with five pilaster capitals. The façade shows linearity and harmony that enhance the entire architectural complex, thanks ...

The coastal tower of the sixteenth century is located at the port of Torre Vado. The circular tower has two floors, with windows and loopholes in the upper part. It’s superiorly characterized by battlements that embellish the profile. It has a stairway access definitely at the rear of the tower itself. ...

The castle is of modest dimension. The interiors feature archways of stars and barrels and are equipped with a hanging garden. From the ancient decorations remained some frescoes in the main floor and some bas-reliefs of modest workmanship in the throne room. The castle was once a chapel dedicated to St. Vito. ...

The palace has an impressive façade adorned with an entry portal with a machicolation, a balcony with corbels, finely decorated balustrades, and a belfry. Later, the entrance was moved further south, almost in front of the square.   The palace has two large courtyards: the main entrance leads to the first floor through a staircase where the rooms reserved for the nobility can be found; while on the ground floor were the premises for the servants, the warehouses and stables for animals. At the end of the staircase is the large living room that served as a hall for receptions and ceremonies, wherein a chapel can be found. Adjacent to the living room is the representation space, the only one with two lunettes frescoed with scenes from chivalry life.   The citrus ...

  Palazzo Gallone, in the center of Tricase, consists of three main elements: the fortress, the tower and the actual body of the building. The tower, built in the fifteenth century, was equipped with a walled enclosure and a drawbridge, according to the military architectural design of the era. With a scarped base and defended by watchtowers and machicolation, it can be considered one of the most impressive towers of the Terra d'Otranto. Prisons, located inside, still retain the graffiti of prisoners. A wall with a 400 m long moat completed the defense system along with other smaller towers.   In 1661 the Prince of Tricase, Stefano Gallone, obtained the tower and the nearby fortress on the west and began the construction of the palace on a former baronial mansion. ...

  The foundations  of Tutino was erected in the fifteenth century to defend the villagers. The massive walls, 6-7 meters high, are made of stone and bolus and have a scarped base. The castle is aggregated with five of the nine towers of the surrounding medieval walls. The towers were connected by a walkway, still visible in some places. It is one of the few castles in Salento which preserves its original moat. On the eastern side, the moat gives way to an elegant Renaissance façade, articulated on two levels with a severe portal surmounted by the coat of arms. Each of the seven windows of the facade decoration bears a motto in Latin. ...

A wide area in the town of Depressa is occupied by the castle/palace of the Winspeare barons and most especially by the large annexed garden. The castle has a rectangular plan of the sixteenth-century structure in which the two square towers, the open gallery, the great monumental staircase, and the brackets on the west side that supported the walkway, are all still recognizable. At the central courtyard, a porch was added in the late nineteenth century. Surrounded by stone walls and blocks of tuff, the garden, built in the late nineteenth century, consists of two parts; one closer to the palace with concentric paths and trails in a set of rays among a dense vegetation of reeds, and a part marked by perpendicular paths and parallel to the central axis of the citrus ...

At 116 meters above sea level, on the crest of the Serra del Mito, stands the Torre del Sasso.   The existence of the tower is then ascertained by 1584. It belongs to the system of coastal fortifications built by Charles V in the first half of the sixteenth century. The tower, now partially ruined and difficult to access, is composed of a truncated pyramid base and an overlying squared part. Only one side of the tower is visible, made of masonry stones irregularly mixed with red clay, plastered and reinforced with abutments in tuff blocks. Unlike other towers, the upper compartment must have a barrel vault and a covering with regular tuff blocks, as can be imagined by the remains of the still visible foundation. ...

The Torre Palane is located approximately 15 meters above sea level and is overhanging on a cliff just a short distance from the town of Marina Serra.   The tower, existing since 1569, is square in shape and of considerable size. The structure has a truncated pyramid base with a square plan, surrounded by a curb, on which rise the animated walls with openings of various sizes. On a series of protruded corbels, the crowning is set up provided with the original machicolation.   Inside, a barrel-vaulted room leads to a second room, vaulted all the same, below the ground level, with no openings and intended for cistern or deposit. ...

The tower, existing since 1565, stands alone at 129 meters above sea level on a rocky promontory.   The tower, made with thick walls in irregular stones and red clay, was composed by a truncated cone base with a diameter of approximately 11 m and a cylindrical upper part separated by a curb.   The upper floor, almost completely ruined, is covered with a vestment of regular tuff blocks. Inside, you can still distinguish a cistern with a barrel vault. ...

It deals with a complex consisting of a sixteenth-century tower and the annexed former military barracks of the early 20th century. The tower stands at about 125 meters above sea level on a rocky promontory with steep slopes characterized by shrubs and spontaneous herbs, but also by olive tree terrace. The tower consists of a single floor of truncated cone shape, corresponding to the original basement with a brick staircase close to the outer wall and by a projecting ridge, which highlights the plan of the upper terrace.   ...

Strolling along the seafront of Leuca, you will come across the poorly preserved remains of a coastal tower. The tower stands on a promontory originally far from the center of Leuca, but currently included in the urbanized area. The structure, of about 30 m in diameter, presents a truncated cone base in carparo and above it; a curb expands in a cylindrical manner in tuff blocks. It features a terrace with battlements used for positioning the artilleries. It is generally assigned into the category of "hammer" towers, although compared to the latter, the Omo Morto presents a peculiarity: in place of the embrasure at the base is a door. Today, the upper part of the tower is misshapen and it is only possible to admire the exterior masonry. At the end of the 17th century, it was ...

The tower of Salignano is a massive construction of 20 meters in diameter and 15 meters high made of regular tuff blocks on a circular base. It has a truncated cone expansion with a scarped basement that reaches almost half the entire building. It has ten machicolations and five embrasures. At the top of the structure is a circular lookout corridor that protrudes on the corbels it was molded on. ...

The feudal castle of Giuliano was built in the early 16th century in the ancient heart of the town. The structure has retained its original appearance and the moat, still visible, has a citrus grove. It has the typical features of military architecture of the sixteenth century. On either side of the main facade, with its curtains and four high vertical ramparts, rise two square towers. An arched bridge allows one to go beyond the moat and enter the castle, and is distributed around a large central courtyard onto which all the rooms on the ground floor and the upper floor are facing. The ground floor was used for productive activities (stables, barns, warehouses and rooms for servants), while the first floor was intended for the residence of the feudal lord with the noble rooms. The ...