Muro Leccese, between history and tradition
Muro Leccese is one of the oldest settlements in Salento, where Bronze Age and Neolithic finds have been unearthed. It became a town thanks to the Messapians who, arriving from ancient Illyria around the 6th century BC, left many traces here, now kept in the Museo Borgo Terra in Muro Leccese and the Museo Provinciale in Lecce.
Muro Leccese, between history and tradition
The menhirs
Five still stand in the area (Miggiano, Giallini, Trice, Crocefisso, Croce di Sant’Antonio), about four metres tall. Their purpose is still unclear: perhaps they served ancient rites, or marked old roads. In the Salento dialect they are called “Sannà”.
The walls and the North Gate
The ancient city walls are clearly visible in the Sitrie and Palombara areas. At Sitrie you can see the North Gate with the marks of ancient cart tracks; at Palombara, besides the remains of Iron Age huts, a second inner wall defending part of the city.
The church of Santa Marina
Built between the 9th and 11th centuries, partly with stone blocks from the Messapic walls, it is one of the finest churches of that period: a single nave with a semicircular apse and frescoes along the walls, including one dedicated to Saint Nicholas.
Piazza del Popolo
One of the most beautiful squares in Salento: a little jewel box of Lecce stone, the warmest in colour and the most yielding to the chisel. In the centre stands the Column of the Four Evangelists, erected in 1607.
Churches and convents
The Church of the Annunziata and the Church of the Immacolata stand face to face: the first, built in the late 17th century on a Byzantine predecessor, is rich in large canvases of great merit; the second, built between 1778 and 1787, is so finely carved that it is considered one of the seven stars of Salento.
Do not miss the Convent of the Dominican Fathers, built in 1561 at the wish of Prince Giovan Battista I Protonobilissimo, with the monumental Baroque church commissioned in 1583 by his wife Cornelia De Monti, and the Church of the Crocefisso di Brongo from 1573, with its beautiful wooden crucifix.
Salento within easy reach
The sea is close to Muro Leccese: Otranto, Santa Cesarea Terme, Castro and the caves of the Adriatic coast are about twenty minutes away by car. Lecce, Gallipoli and Santa Maria di Leuca make easy day trips.
- Otrantoabout 15 km
- Santa Cesarea Termeabout 15 km
- Castroabout 18 km
- Lecceabout 40 km
- Gallipoliabout 40 km
- Santa Maria di Leucaabout 45 km
- Brindisi Airportabout 85 km
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