Centro storico di Castellana Grotte

Castellana Grotte's historic centre preserves the form of a walled Murgia town, with white-stone houses, narrow lanes and courtyards. Gates, a circular tower and a baronial residence mark the medieval core, while Via Roma leads towards the façade of the church of Madonna del Caroseno.

Why it matters

The historic centre gives the town a distinct identity beyond the nearby caves. Its first recorded mention as locus Castellano dates to 901, and its compact street pattern retains traces of the medieval settlement. Largo Porta Grande, the Curia Baronale and Torre Nuova preserve different aspects of the town's civic and defensive history.

What to notice

Largo Porta Grande, dating to around 1400, was once the principal entrance through the town walls. The Arco de Marinis and the circular Torre Nuova mark surviving fragments of that defensive perimeter. The late-eleventh-century Curia Baronale recalls the authority of the Count of Conversano, while Via Roma's eighteenth-century palaces lead towards the Caroseno church. The Torre dell'Orologio, built in 1848, stands by Piazza Nicola e Costa; the former Franciscan convent now used as Palazzo Municipale preserves a late-sixteenth-century cloister and frescoes by Alberto Tomaselli.

Context and history

In December 1171, Abbot Eustasio granted the fief to Nicola and Costa of Otranto, whose names remain in Piazza Nicola e Costa. The town later passed among feudal lords, and its medieval walls survive in fragments. In 1750, residents rose against feudal authority in a struggle recorded in the town's history. The settlement expanded beyond the old perimeter in later centuries, while the centre retained its network of stone lanes and courtyards.