In the heart of Salento just eight minutes from Otranto, this Italy bed and breakfast offers vacation accommodation in Puglia.
The village of Muro Leccese dates back to the 5th century BC. (the Messapican civilization). Leccese was a very old Messapican centre, whose name still hasn’t been discovered, was allied to Athens during the Peloponese war and was an arch enemy of the Spartan city of Taranto. In about 260BC the town was conquered by the Romans and in 90BC was razed to the ground by them as punishment for an act of rebellion.
In the mid 1980s, a team led by archaeologist Lamboley uncovered evidence of an old fortification together with its gate, finding in Muro Leccese the biggest and most important boundary walls in pre-Roman Salento. Tradition tells that the village was destroyed by Arabs in around 924AD. This event was taken for the coat of arms of the village, which carries the Moor’s Head.
The Byzantine church of San Marina was restored and studied by the archaeologist Castelfranchi in the mid 1990s. Inside, you will find remains of a pictorial cycle devoted to San Nicola of Mirya, dating from before 1087, the year in which the Saint’s remains were stolen and taken to Bari.
The village has an historical centre characterised by houses with courtyards, the Norman castle and two wonderful churches, one of which was chosen by the national mint for coinage as part of a series celebrating Leccese Baroque. The old city hides many oil presses, located in the cellars of its old houses, and symbols of traditional oil tree cultivation.
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