The current facade of the church is the result of numerous successive remodeling until the 20th century. The interior, by contrast, is an explosion of Baroque art with beautiful altars with finely carved and twisted columns and paintings, as the seventeenth-century Vision of St. Francis by Frate Angelo da Copertino, adorning the great nave. The nave, along with the choir, are the result of a series of interventions that occurred at different times. The choir, in fact, destroyed in December 1931 by a fire, was restored only in 2004 with an opera of a Bolivian craftsman Giuseppe Valente of Miggiano. The church contains valuable Baroque altars made of Leccese stone dedicated to St. Nicholas (1653), the Crucifix (1683), the Immaculate Conception (1781) and San Vito (1807). The Leccese-stone ...

From the obvious Spanish touch, the Palazzo Carida Ramirez is built on two levels with arcades on the ground floor and a finely decorated lodge on the main floor. Inside, it is possible to admire the vaults decorated with frescoes of the 19th century. The Palace also has a garden and a beautiful terrace overlooking the sea. ...

The Masseria Spiggiano, privately owned, is an ancient fortified structure completely fenced and inaccessible. In the immediate vicinity of the farm is the beautiful dovecote tower of the 16th century, belonging to the same farm. The tower, which is currently in poor condition, is situated at the foot of the Serra di Pozzomauro, has a circular form and consists of a cylindrical body in tuff erected on the bedrock. It is accessible by a rather low door and is surmounted by a notched frame with arched openings, probably used as 'appollatoi' for pigeons. At the base of the tower is a hidden underground room whose vault seems to have collapsed. What remained of the hypogeum was perhaps remodeled during the era of superior construction because there is a staircase that plunges down, ...

The church dates back to the early 17th century but retains decorative traces of a medieval chapel of the ancient settlement of Pozzomauro. The façade of the church is very simple. The interior has a Latin cross plan consisting of several altars of the 17th and 18th century A.D. In the transept are the oldest paintings of late Middle Ages like the Madonna with Child. The church and the adjacent monastery were rebuilt by the Frati Riformati on the place where a miraculous episode occurred in 1596. The road leading to the monastery is characterized by the presence of a Via Crucis in stone placed at the sides of the same street. ...

Inaugurated in 2008, the Museo del Giunco Palustre is located inside the nineteenth-century Palazzo Villani of Acquarica del Capo. The museum, established to commemorate the presence of wetlands in Salento and to value the artistic history of marsh bulrush crafts, houses numerous educational panels that recount the different phases of the craftsmanship of the bulrushes following a sophisticated practice covetously preserved by the women of Acquarica, who worked as basket-makers. Among the various processes are illustrations of the harvesting done exclusively by men, the boiling, the drying and the zolfatura, which took place in special cubicles – the “stove” rooms - where coals were burned with sulfur. The weaving of the bulrushes was the final stage of the process and was ...

Thirty meters from the farm complex of Celsorizzo is a dovecote tower in circular plan, dated 1550, as indicated on the coat of arms of the Guarini and by the inscription on the entrance door: “FABRICIUS GUARINUS / HOC FRUCTUS AUCUPANDIQUA CAUSSA / CONSTRUXIT SIBI AMICISQUE - ANNO D.NI MDL. - ", “Fabrizio Guarino had this dovecote tower built for himself and his friends for pleasure hunting. Year 1550 ". The dovecote tower is externally divided into two levels by a curb on flat surface. A string course frame surrounds the tower in half a meter from the floor of the field, at this height comes the access to the interior of the dovecote; an interior  made up of holes for the pigeons and ladders with steps protruding from the sides.   ...

The Masseria Celsorizzo (also called "Gelsorizzo") is located on the outskirts of Acquarica del Capo, in an area between the aforementioned town and the provincial road to Maglie. The farm complex consists of a tall square tower with loopholes and machicolations-first core of the establishment dating back to the first half of the sixteenth century-and other rooms such as stables, barn and sheep pens, leaning against the wall, added in the nineteenth century deductible as of the date 1807 engraved on the architrave of the entrance portal. the tower of the fifteenth century is Of particular beauty and architectural interest, which houses a small chapel at its base, dedicated to St. Nicholas of Myra which measures 7.8m long and 3.7m wide, with valuable paintings of the thirteenth ...

The Sanctuary of San Rocco presents itself as a simple and linear structure characterized externally by a central door, framed between two empty niches, and two side doors. At the very top of the edifice is a cross. The interior is characterized by the main altar adorned with a large painting by Giovanni Grassi, dated 1851, depicting the Miracle Worker of plague victims, on which a Latin inscription reads: “D.O.M. DIVO ROCCO SACELLUM HOC ANTIQUA IVIUM PIETAS RECENS FIDELI M. DEVOTIO ... TESTIS FAEC. E. M. DIGIORUM OCCASIONE MOTA EREXIT UNA AMPLIA VIT ALTERA A.D. MDCCXXXVIII.” Located on either side of the altar are statues of St. Oronzo, on the left, and St. Sebastian, on the right. We know, in fact, that the worship of St. Rocco is attested  in Torrepaduli since 1531, in a ...

The chapel has a simple rectangular aspect, with a portal and central windows, surmounted by a belfry. Inside, what makes it valuable and perhaps unique church of Morciano is the presence of a huge monolith, an authentic menhir of local marble, painted on whose front plate is a sixteenth-century Madonna and Child. The monolith has come to light in the recent years of the twentieth century as a result of a conservative intervention carried out by the Pro Loco "Torre Vado". Below the fresco are visible traces of color dating back to the classical period of Byzantine art in Salento (900-1000 AD). Depicted in the hand of the Child are three arrows (a clear reference to the SS. Trinity) symbolizing the divine love for humanity on earth.   ...

The Palazzo Baronale is an impressive architectural complex of great interest; was built in the late seventeenth century, next to the remains of the sixteenth century castle of which remains a square tower with loopholes and machicolations. It presents an austere facade with round portal bearing the coat of arms of the feudal family and windows distributed in the higher order different from the lower by a string course cornice. ...

Known as the Madonna della Serra, the church dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, was elevated into a Sanctuary in 1951. The edifice dates back to the sixteenth century, a period of frequent Saracens attacks on the Salentine coasts. For this reason, the church presents externally as a watchtower and is characterized by the typical elements of the fortified structures; at the doors and windows are machicolations positioned for defensive purposes. The interior consists of a ceramic majolica pavement and an altar in Leccese stone surmounted by the painting of the Madonna and Child. On the side is the statue of the Madonna della Serra, periodically carried in procession, and a sixteenth-century fresco depicting the Madonna del Latte. The image, rebuilt in the eighteenth century, depicts ...

According to tradition, St. Peter, traveling to Rome, stopped at Leuca and founded the first Christian church dedicated to the Saviour on the site of a pagan temple dedicated to Minerva. The church became one of the major pilgrimage centers of ancient times and the middle Ages.   However, the dedication to Santa Maria di Leuca goes back to the fourth century, when Mary saved the fishermen during a storm. The church have been under many reconstructions over the centuries, especially because of repeated attacks by the Turks or Saracens. As a result of the last renovation, carried out between 1720 and 1755 by Monsignor Giovanni Giannelli, the structure is disguised as a fortress to hide it from eventual destructions.   Going beyond the three actual entrance portals, ...

Situated on the corner of Via Roma and Corso Umberto I, in front of the Chiesa Matrice della Trasfigurazione, the underground oil mill, owned by Evangelista Di Seclì, is located 8 meters deep and is attached to the eighteenth-century Palazzo Colonna. The underground oil mill still retains some of the original structures and furnishings: a huge millstone, some mangers and beddings where the millers- men who left their families and living for 5-6 months period of oil production activities  inside the mill without getting out and getting the chance to see the sunlight-rested. ...

The architectural structure of Palazzo Bitonti is composed of an "old" part dating from the seventeenth century and “new” parts that were built later, but in an unknown time since the documents were lost. The palace is in line with the domestic chapel dedicated to Madonna della Consolazione and to San Giuseppe, which is the chapel wanted by the archpriest Don Gaetano Bitonti. The edifice has two floors with a letter “U” floor plan, following a design diffused in the province, with the rooms on the lower level intended for services and those of the upper floor intended as noble residence. The ground floor is accessible through a single entrance leading into a large atrium with barrel vault that precedes an open court separated by elegant pillars made of Leccese ...

Among the surviving elements of the thirteenth-century castle, the Romanesque arch is recognizable, created with Leccese stone, guilloche and decorated with acanthus leaves, plants and animals mounted on the facade of the western side. The tower, built in the mid-sixteenth century by the feudal lords Gattinara Lignani, functioned as defense from the Turks, has small windows with acute arches and a protruding parapet on quatrefoil corbels and culminated with a Guelphic battlement. The main façade, which looks out on Piazza Castello, is embellished with portals with bas-reliefs depicting late baroque floral subjects, the Cross of the Order of the Knights of Malta and the coats of arms of some feudal families of Taurisano. The interiors are fully decorated with distemper. ...

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 palace is located in the historic center of Salve, at the intersection of Piazza Repubblica with Via Crocifisso. The facade is characterized by a typical rusticated portal and two rounded-stone balconies resting on five large corbels, arranged on the two outermost sides of the facades, which widen toward the street almost in the shape of a semicircle. Inside, the palace is embellished with a courtyard in which the grace of baroque ornaments fits perfectly with the slender architectural lines. Two high pillars come off on the opposite side of the entrance door, enriched with ornaments and on which rest the finely embroidered arches. Swirls, plates, heads of angels and floral motifs alternate with columns engraved with the "orrisroot", especially that, along with an allegorical ...

The Montano house-tower is located within the historic center of Salve. Built in 1562 (as indicated by the date that appears on one of the towers of the building), it was a safe haven for the inhabitants. It has a square plan with guarding towers in the corners, for ambush of the sentries, with a strong projection on elegant and carved corbels, making it the most complete and beautiful towers of Salve. The tower leans against a palace with which now constitutes a unique complex; the palace dates back to the seventeenth century, as indicated by the date on one of the windows on the first floor (1617) and over the years has had different uses, including that of Police Stations.   ...

The current structure is the result of an extension of the original structure, which took place in the 50s of the last century. It retains much of the original structure, dedicated to St. Mary and dating back to the mid-sixteenth century. A.D., as much as the transept. The facade is in a hut-form, with a single entrance portal, a small rose window and a cross jutting in the axis. Inside, it is possible to admire interesting paintings from the era including the Annunciation and the Last Judgment and a fresco painted in 1586 for devotion to Alterius Stasi. ...

Consisting of a single barrel-vaulted room, the church presents entirely frescoed walls, including the vault on which center a coat of arms is painted  and is in fair condition. On the wall, surmounting the altar is a depiction of the Madonna of Constantinople, while in a lunette above the entrance, is an unusual fresco of Jesus carrying the cross in an outdated country landscape. On the walls are full length paintings of several saints including St. Nicholas, St. Rocco, St. Anthony Abate and St. Anthony of Padua. ...

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 square of San Giuseppe in Corsano allows an access to an interesting underground oil mill. The structure has been the subject of a developmental project in recent years, but now appears closed and abandoned.   In the mill, it is possible to observe the milling basin and a large millstone.   ...

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 ...

It features a simple façade set on three orders. The lower order is characterized by a Baroque portal on which the date "1758" can be seen; the second order has a central window in lira; while the mixed-line tympanum, with a statue of St Ippazio in the center of a niche, was built later as the date of 1791 indicates.   The interior, with a Latin cross, has two deep chapels on each side. In addition to valuable paintings, inside is a sixteenth-century pulpit with arabesque motifs and a pipe organ arranged on wooden choir with paintings of stalls. On a pillar is a fresco from the first half of the sixteenth century, relevant to the previous structure, depicting Saint Eligio. ...

The original core of Matine farm complex dates back to the sixteenth century and is built from the tower. In subsequent periods,  several rooms , defined as the "curte", which was the open space where daily activities were carried out, were added to the original tower. Annexed to the farm is a garden arranged in straight paths and dominated by the presence of a dovecote tower.   The fortified tower is characterized by corbels supporting the parapet of the terrace and the drain, aligned to the windows and the doors. Visible not far from the farm is a farmyard, still perfectly intact.   The farm, located in a wide cultivated arable land and surrounded by olive groves, visually dominates the surrounding area, with the exception of some recent buildings of small ...

The mother church of Tricase is dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The present structure is the result of a series of renovations that were carried out over the centuries.   The main façade has a portal decorated by columns with composite capitals, topped by a niche which houses the statue of the praying Mary.   The interior, in a simple Latin cross with a single nave and a transept, is furnished with furniture and accessories of the previous structures such as the Renaissance baptismal fountain, visible on the left upon entering the church. In the left transept, a monumental altar hosts the sixteenth century painting of the Virgin with Child and Saints Matteo and Francesco da Paola, attributed to Paolo Caliari the Veronese; while the ...

The Baroque facade of San Domenico church, completed in the seventeenth century, has a portal surmounted by a statue of St. Dominic de Guzman, and the busts of St. Peter and St. Paul. The top of the pediment is decorated with statues of saints valued in the Dominican Order.   The interior, with a single nave, is illuminated by 13 window lyre, and has seven chapels alternated with polychrome statues of Dominican saints. The transept is replaced by two large chapels that proceed to the main altar. Baroque altars and precious paintings decorate the church: artists like Saverio Lillo, Giovan Domenico Catalano, Giuseppe Zimbalo, and Gioacchino Toma worked on them.   Down the nave, the wooden choir is located, made in 1703 by Oronzo Pirti. The suspended wooden sky with ...

The little church, located in the countryside northwest of Tricase, in the territory of Tutino, presents a somber façade with a simple portal that bears the inscription "Virgini Pietatis Dicatum". The interior has a unique nave and ends with the main altar topped by a modern mosaic depicting the Pietà (a replacement of an old painting, stolen in the 70s). ...

Along the dirt roads on the slopes of Serra del Fico, it is possible to come across an ancient farm complex in poor condition. This is the Masseria Serrafica, from the name of the Serra where it is located, now a subject of massive renovations due to the poor state besetting the structure. It is one of the typical farm complexes of Salento, made up of a section for agricultural activities and a part devoted to residential functions. ...

The property is a large farm complex located in an area involving paths that lead back to an ancient road of Messapian and Roman age (via Sallentina). Near the farm are visible traces of ruts and some tombs were found in the rocky bank. The carriage tracks are visible along the dirt road facing the farm. The property, inaccessible and unsafe, is a typical fortified complex, the center of local agricultural activities until the mid-twentieth century linked to the production of wheat, tobacco and oil. ...

The small chapel of St. Elias is a non-urban structure, north of Depressa, along the road to Castiglione. The church was built in the seventeenth century, in an area characterized by the presence of ancient necropolis. The facade is very simple and leads into a rectangular room with a small altar on which there used to be a picture of the Transfiguration. ...

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 Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli, known locally as the Chiesa dei Diavoli, is a extra-urban octagonal structure, built in the seventeenth century by the Marquis Gattinara. The upper part of the church is defined by a double cornice which makes the extrados of the vault instantly visible. A bell tower is set on the attic of the brickwork on the southeastern part.   The interior is marked by angular pilasters with Corinthian capitals and round arches; the ceiling consists of a pavilion vault with lunettes set on the octagonal support. The remains of the original altar are on the walls. The Virgin of Constantinople, adored by angels, saints and by the same developer was depicted on the main altar. ...

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. ...

Positioned stunningly on the Promontorio del Calino, overlooking the sea of ​​Marina Serra, is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Assumption, surrounded by a large garden with thick vegetation.   The structure looks very simple and is characterized by the typical elements of the fortified structures: at the doors and windows are machicolations positioned for defensive purposes; on the facade is a marble plaque which says that the church was elevated into a Shrine in 1950 (saint year) for the proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption.   The interior has a single nave covered by a star vault. Placed on the main altar is the painting of the Lady of the Assumption by the Neapolitan painter, Paolo Fenoglio. Entering on the left side, there is a canvas depicting the Holy ...

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.   ...

The church, next to the monastery, consists of a single nave composed of three surroundings (a room, a choir, and a presbytery) and eight altars. The walls are characterized by Doric pilasters and plasters and in the thickness of the walls were the recovered altars. It presents a barrel vault with lunettes, plastered and painted. The façade, flanked by two pilasters and crowned with a broken pediment, is highlighted by three niches with statues and an entrance portal aligned with a window tracery.   Behind the convent is a cloister, which served as a shelter for pilgrims who spent the night. The function of the Monastery of St. Francis of Paola, located along Via dei Pellegrini which was probably to mirror the actions of Leuca Piccola di Barbarano, was to offer ...

Along the seafront of Leuca, at the end of the nineteenth century, engineers Ruggeri and Rossi and the architect Arditi tested their creativity by building numerous villas for the bourgeoisie and the local nobility, with disparate exotic styles including: from Oriental to Arabic, from Pompeii to Gothic to Art Nouveau. If at the end of the nineteenth century, there were 43 houses, some of them did not survive the war and others have been renovated in a different way. Among the most important are Villa Ruggeri and Villa Meridiana (Art Nouveau style), Villa Mellacqua (neo-Gothic style), Villa Sangiovanni (Egyptian style) and Villa Episcopo (Chinese style). Each villa is furnished, according to the custom of those times, with a family chapel, a large garden, a park with pine and palm trees. ...

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 church was built in honor of Our Lady of Grace in 1679, along Via dei Pellegrini, in an area where there was once a small village which arose as a result of the destruction of the city of Vereto.   The edifice, with a single hall and covered with a star vault with lunettes and allegorical masks, presents a very poor condition; only a rudimentary altar in tuff, topped by a Marian image, is preserved.   In the surrounding area, the church attests to the presence of numerous caves and medieval tombs, which retain no trace of the dead for it has already been opened and robbed in the past.   ...

The Church of San Giuseppe, located halfway between Salignano and Santa Maria di Leuca, is established along one of the main transport routes of the Pilgrims, who at this point could see from afar - for the first time - the final destination of their journey: the Sanctuary of Leuca. Many of them could find refreshments and accommodations in some purposely set up areas in the immediate vicinity of the building of worship.   The church was built between 1617 and 1630. The construction took so long for the fact that after a few years of the initial works, they were interrupted by the arrival of the Algerians in the Capo di Leuca and was resumed only later.   Today the church is surrounded by a large pine grove and is open on the feast of St. Joseph.   ...

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 interesting Palazzo Liborio Romano, in the main square of Patù, is a neoclassical building connected to the memory of one of the most important people of the Renaissance period in Salento. The palace, built at the behest of Alessandro Romano, father of Liborio, in the first decades of the nineteenth century, had the dual function of a residence to the large Romano family and a symbol of power and wealth. The main facade looks much higher than the rest of the building, reinforcing grandeur of the structure. In 1961, on the centenary of the Unità d'Italia, a plaque to commemorate the exploits of Liborio was placed Next to the main portal. The large courtyard leads to the Doric-style portico streamlined by Tuscan columns. This leads into a circular room with a domed ...

The rural church of the Crocifisso was built in 1651, located along the street of Via dei Pellegrini. It presents a simple gabled facade framed between two powerful pilasters. In the lateral part stands a small bell tower. The interior is characterized by a single nave divided into two bays with a star vault.   It presents modest decorations in which emerges, however, the splendid altar of 1670 decorated with polychrome plaster, by a sculptor of Alessano origin Placido Buffelli, containing a painting of Christ's face. The church houses an ancient crucifix and a statue of the dead Christ. ...

The small church, dedicated to Our Lady of Constantinople, was built in 1628. The façade is simple, with pitched roof and a unique entrance portal surmounted by a niche.   The corners are emphasized by an ashlars pattern. On its peak is an elegant motif of blind arches. Inside, it has several Byzantine-inspired frescoes and a painting of 1700 depicting the image of the Virgin and Child, oil on large canvas, made by an unknown artist in the first half of eighteenth century. On the sides are Sant’Oronzo, Sant’Antonio Abate, San Leonardo and Santi Medici   Leaning against the chapel is a partially ruined building, probably served as accommodation and refuge for pilgrims.   ...

The tower dates back to the sixteenth century, a period of frequent Saracen attacks at the coasts of Salento. For this reason, the structure is characterized by the typical elements of the fortified structures; at the doors and windows are machicolations positioned for defensive purposes. ...

The Ruffano Castle, situated at the highest point of the village, was built in 1626 by Rinaldo Brancaccio on a preexisting medieval fortress. The building is devoid of a defense apparatus, mostly reflecting the architectural standards of a large baronial palace built as a mansion. To characterize the structure is the beautiful lodge, built after Carlo Brancaccio’s desire in the second half of 1600, which connects the baronial palace to the Mother Church; thanks to the "Loggia Brancaccio" the noblemen could attend religious services through a special window that gazed directly inside the sacred edifice. In the early years of the 19th century, Nicola Ferrante, as what Carlo Brancaccio did to the Piazza del Popolo, enriched the front of the castle in Piazza San Francesco with the ...

The Palmenti or millstones, only one of its kind, constitute historical and cultural patrimony of inestimable value. They consist of 8 stone tubs in which grapes were treaded and the juice was collected in cisterns. On the back insists a winepress of private property. ...

The Mother Church, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, presents a plain façade divided into three parts by tall pilasters. The central part is enriched by an elegant Baroque doorway surmounted by a stone statue of the Virgin. Above the portal are an inscription and a window lyre, which is next to a clock. The aspect ends with a curved pediment, at the sides of which stand two belfries. The interior, with three naves, houses some of the altars with paintings such as the Immaculate, an opera recently attributed to the painter Aniello Letizia. The seventeenth-century wooden statue of the Venetian Saint Donato, patron saint of the town, is of particular interest. ...

The Calvary of Montesano Salentino is a wide and deep apsidal shrine protected by an enclosure topped with six spire pinnacles. The structure is marked laterally by pairs of pilasters that house the paintings of two thieves; at its peak are towering spire pinnacles flanked by two pairs of terracotta chalices. The apsidal area is occupied by five paintings by the artist Giuseppe Bottazzi (1821 - 1890) of Diso illustrating, as in other calvaries made by him, the images of the Passion of Jesus Christ. At the center stands the Crucifixion with the Virgin, St. John and Mary Magdalene, while the sides of this representation are the Prayer in the Garden, the Flagellation, the Departure to Calvary and the Crowning of Thorns. At the base of the five representations is the scene of the Pieta with ...

The Church of Madonna degli Angeli was built in 1902. The edifice, located in the countryside between San Cassiano and Nociglia, was erected on the grounds of a small, eleventh-century church. ...

From the original structure, the same G.C. Vanini described in his work "De admirandis", and where the philosopher spent his teenage years, only the central body remained. Numerous changes were made over the centuries to the original structure. The house consists of an entrance hall with a ribbed vault, which is accessible through a rusticated portal in carparo and embellished with geometric and floral motifs. The atrium leads to the internal rooms, positioned on either side of the entrance, with barrel vaults or edged-Leccese stone vaults. From a staircase set in the rooms, on the left of the entrance hall, is the terrace and the first floor. Annexed to the house was the family chapel, dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, removed in nineteenth century. On either side of the main ...

The façade is framed between two bell towers and extends into two articulate arrays of pilasters. Placed on the architrave of the front door is the coat of arms of Taurisano: a bull in the hills. The interior, with a Latin cross outline and a single nave, has a ribbed vault entirely frescoed with festoons and arabesques. The nave and transept are embellished by altars dedicated to Saint Lucia, St. Anthony of Padua, to the Souls in Purgatory, St. Vito, the Mercy, the Holy Family, St. Stephen the protomartyr and to Our Lady of the Rosary. These were built between 1838 and 1840, except for the altars of St. Anthony of Padua, erected in 1815, and of Our Lady of the Rosary in 1885. Almost all of the frescoes came from the ancient parish and date back to the seventeenth century and the ...

The complex of Santa Maria di Leuca of Belvedere, also known locally as Leuca Piccola, is an articulate religious structure built in the site of a preexisting church in 1685 by Baron Don Annibale Capece.   The existing church is equipped with an impressive pronaos, consisting of a monumental body with large arches that leads directly into the small church, with a sacristy at the back.   The interior is decorated with seventeenth-eighteenth century frescoes depicting Saint Lazarus, Saint Lucia, St. Horace, Santa Barbara, Santa Marina, St. Francis of Paola, St. Paschal Baylon, San Gennaro and San Leonardo.  On the vault, the four Evangelists (St. Matthew, St. Luke, St. Mark and St. John) are painted, linked by the initials JHS (Jesus Saviour of the World).   Through ...

The mother church of Giuliano, dedicated to San Giovanni Crisostomo, was built in the sixteenth century on a preexisting building. The numerous restorations and renovations that it had been put through over the centuries have led to its current appearance: a façade in neoclassic style with pilasters and central door surmounted by an epigraph with a dedication, all results of work carried out at the end of nineteenth century. The interior, with three naves, is rich in operas created in different periods. Some frescoes of 1564 and a bas-relief in Leccese stone of 1612 depicting "the Mercy" are remains of the oldest phase of the church. The side chapels are home to Baroque altars topped with some paintings of great artistic value. The stucco ...

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 ...

The small church of Santo Stefano, built near the settlement of Macurano, was built in 1585 and has a belfry on the facade and a fresco of St. Stephen on the back wall, with some votive inscriptions on the visible sides under the layer of actual plaster. ...

In the oldest part of the city, in Piazza Castello in Alessano, in front of the Palazzo Ducale, the striking facade of Palazzo San Giovanni can be seen. The façade, characterized by a rusticated "diamond point", was inspired by premium models like the Neapolitan Palazzo Sanseverino (1455-1470), later transformed into the Church of Gesu Nuovo, and like the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara, built in 1492, as well as local models such as the San Vincenzo Tower of Presicce, Arcuti Palace and Palazzo della Zecca in Soleto.   These new architectural models, product of a blend of military and residential architecture, seem to be linked to particular clientele of knights and merchants, especially Jewish merchants (the picturesque district of ...

This mansion of the sixteenth century is located in the center of Alessano. The facade has a portal with a round arch and an elegant frame that leans on two pillars with capitals. On the ground floor are four arched windows, while the main floor is animated by a succession of windows with architraves. The peak is composed of a slightly protruding cornice with hanging arches on corbels. The palace now houses the Public Library and the town‘s Pro Loco, used as a cultural center for events and conferences.   ...

The majestic facade of the church of San Salvatore, overlooking Piazza Don Tonino Bello, has three entrances: on the middle one, bigger in size, is a plaque and the coat of arms of Alessano. The interior is in a Latin cross form divided by pillars into three naves and has paintings of excellent workmanship such as "Saint Tryphon in glory" by Oronzo Letizia, and a painting attributed to Caravaggio school by Paolo Finoglio "Archangel Raphael and Tobias." The wooden pulpit of 1879 is valuable, by Giuseppe De Cupertinis. In the right wing is the altar of St. Tryphon, the patron saint of the city. ...

Defined as "House of the Pilgrims", a structure of the XVII century was probably an accommodation for travelers heading to Leuca. The structure features, like Masseria Mustazza, cruciferi signs engraved on the exterior walls and perforated stones for horse stopover. The structure is situated at the end section of a road with ruts traces on the banks of rock, which develop for a length of about 50 meters and are bounded by some square blocks, fixed vertically on the ground. It is probably one of the last surviving tracts of the ancient Via dei Pellegrini.   ...

The structure is a farm complex, remodeled several times over the centuries, with an adjacent oak forest. The farm, known from documents of the nineteenth century, but certainly older, is characterized by an environment of a horseshoe layout. Many crosses are still visible on the walls of the building, carved out of devotion by the devotees who stopped to take shelter, to eat or simply to pray, before reaching the final destination of their trip: the Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Leuca. Semicircular perforated stones are preserved on the facade – known as scapole - used to tie the horses during the stop. The woody area is locally known as Bosco Martella, and is an important relict of the ancient Bosco del Belvedere, which until the beginning of the last century took up most of the ...

The small sixteenth-century church dedicated to the Santa Croce is located on the outskirts of Tricase, in the territory of Lucugnano.   The façade has simple lines and ends with a slightly projecting cornice, topped by two half tympanums with a central pillar of tuff surmounted by a cross. The corners of the pediment are characterized by two pinnacles. The interior has a nave with a barrel vault with lunettes. Some windows illuminate the surroundings. On the sole altar, made of Leccese stone, there is an interesting painting of the Pieta. The altar consists of three simple steps: on the undersides of the refectory table are carved angels that serve as its support and in the center is a roundel with the Virgin. In connection to the access to the sacristy, on the architrave ...

The church of Madonna Addolorata, on the outskirts of the hamlet of Lucugnano, presents a simple façade characterized by two empty niches flanking the entrance portal. The facade ends with a small mixed-linear crown and two pinnacles at each end. The four-sided interior, houses a unique marble altar, consisting of an architectural element in Leccese stone surmounted by an altarpiece depicting  Our Lady of Sorrows or the Seven Sorrows, commissioned by Anna Carignani, wife of the Marquis of Botrugno, Saverio Castriota.   In the anterior of the altar, under the refectory, is the statue of the dead Christ, which is carried in procession on Good Friday along with Our Lady of Sorrows kept in a niche of the presbytery. On the right wall is the ...

Located on the south side of the square, the elegant Palazzo Comi dates back to the mid-nineteenth century and is an interesting example of residential architecture of the XIX-XX centuries in minor urban centers of Salento. The complex integrates the representative-residential functions with the agriculture-production ones, an expression of a culture tied to the small nobility and local middle-class land ownership. The edifice, from the simple and schematic facade to the lowest floor, consists of continuous bands of smooth rustication, while the uppermost floor has very slender gabled windows. The complex is centered on the inner courtyard which is accessible through an atrium, turned in front of which is, on the upper floor, an elegant gallery with Ionic columns with architraves. The ...

The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is located in the small town of Lucugnano, between Palazzo Comi and the baronial castle. The inscription on the façade attests the existence of the church as early as 1725. The facade, recently repainted in a rosy shade, is bordered by two pilasters topped by four pinnacles with a central pediment in mixtilinear frame with four scrolls. None of these elements, however, allows you to define the exact events that have characterized its construction history. The interior has a nave divided into two bays with a rectangular apse. The cover is formed by twice the intersection of sharp edges and once of a barrel with lunettes. The main altar is made of Leccese stone, carved with floral motifs, angels and cherubs, dedicated to Our Lady of Grace, ...