Centro storico di Locorotondo

Locorotondo's historic centre keeps one of the most distinctive townscapes in Puglia: concentric lanes of whitewashed cummerse, sloping stone roofs, historic gates and terraces overlooking the Valle d'Itria.

Why it matters

The medieval name Locus Rotundus, “round place,” describes a centre arranged in rings around the hilltop. Locorotondo preserves an unusually coherent group of cummerse, rectangular houses roofed with sloping slabs of local limestone rather than the conical roofs of nearby trulli. The town is recognised by I Borghi più Belli d'Italia and holds the Touring Club Italiano's Bandiera Arancione quality mark.

What to notice

The cummerse roofs are clad in chiancarelle, thin slabs of local limestone. Lime-washed façades give the lanes their bright appearance. Via Nardelli, nicknamed the “lungomare” despite having no sea, runs along the outer edge above the valley. Two historic gates frame entrances to the centre, while the dome of the Chiesa Matrice di San Giorgio Martire, about 35 metres high, provides a landmark above the rooftops.

Context and history

Written references to the settlement extend back to the late eleventh century. In 1195, Henry VI confirmed to the Benedictine monastery of Santo Stefano in Monopoli a place called “un Locus qui dicitur rotondus,” along with a church of San Giorgio. The town later fell within the principality of Taranto and passed to the dukes of Martina. The present Chiesa Matrice was built between 1790 and 1825 over two earlier churches, including the original chapel of the casale. Its neoclassical façade and Greek-cross plan contrast with the humble, agricultural housing that gives the historic centre its uniform character.