Acquarica del Capo was a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

province of Lecce The Province of Lecce ( it, Provincia di Lecce; Salentino: ) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy whose capital is the city of Lecce. The province is called the "Heel of Italy". Located on the Salento peninsula, it is the second most-p ...

, Apulia, south-eastern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In 2019 it was merged with the adjacent Presicce to form Presicce-Acquarica. It is located in

Salento Salento (Salentino: ''Salentu'', Salentino Griko: ''Σαλέντο'') is a cultural, historical and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apulia in Southern Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the Italian Peninsula, ...

, 10 km from the Ionian Sea and 60 km from Lecce. Its origins are medieval and it grew around a Norman fortification. Later it was transformed into a castle town by the Aragonese.

Main sights

*Medieval castle. It was probably a Norman fortification around which the village developed in the Middle Ages and was later transformed in a Castle in the 14th century by Giovanni Antonio Orsini Del Balzo, Prince of

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

. Only a round tower remains from the original four. In the court can be seen the so-called "Pila di Pompignano" saved from destruction in 1982 by the local writer Carlo Stasi who wrote its legend."La Pila di Pompignano", pp. 129-164, in Carlo Stasi, ''Leucàsia e Le Due Sorelle (Storie e leggende del Salento)'', Mancarella Ed., Cavallino, 2008, 2012, *Church of ''San Carlo Borromeo'' *Church of ''San Giovanni Battista'' *Church ''Madonna dei Panetti'', at Celsorizzo, one of the most ancient constructions in the lower

. *Fortified ''masseria'' of Celsorizzo. A huge Norman Tower with Byzantine frescoes in the Chapel at its base. *Church of ''Madonna di Pompignano''

References

Cities and towns in Apulia Localities of Salento {{Puglia-geo-stub