240px, Loggia of Palazzo Covelli De Marco. Maruggio ( scn, label= Brindisino, Marùggiu; la, Marubium) is a village 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 Taranto, Apulia, southeast

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 ...

. The village is located in a natural depression from the Gulf of Taranto, in the north-west part of

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, ...

peninsula and it's one of the villages of South Italy where the Greek dialect

Griko Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is the dialect of Italiot Greek spoken by Griko people in Salento (province of Lecce) and (also called Grecanic) in Calabria. Some Greek linguists consider it to be a Modern Greek dialect and often call it ( el, ...

is spoken. The nearest villages are Torricella at ,

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...

at ,

Manduria Manduria is a city and '' comune'' of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Taranto. With c. 32,000 inhabitants (2013), it is located east of Taranto. History It was an important stronghold of the Messapii against Taras. Archidamus III, king ...

at and Avetrana at .

Territory

The territory of Maruggio extends for on a level land, with some low-rise hills in the north part of the territory, which reaches a maximum elevation of . There are no rivers, except a little creek, the Canale del Curso, near Castigno, in the western part of Maruggio's territory. The coast extends for , and it is mainly sandy but with rocky parts near Acquadolce Cirenaica and Monaco Mirante.

History

Maruggio was founded by Gorgolano, the Byzantine governor, with the union from the ancient hamlets of Castigno, Olivaro, Albano, Roselle and San Nicolò. After a period under the Knights Templar, from 1317 to 1819 it was ruled by the Knights of Malta. In 1819 it became an autonomous commune.

Economy

Tourism is the main wealth source. Tourism is developed especially along the coast, in the village of Campomarino, that is very famous for its clean sea, for the wonderful beach and in particular for the harbour, that is only along the coast between

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 ...

and

Porto Cesareo Porto Cesareo (; Salentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. The area around the sea of Porto Cesareo is a beautiful example of "Maquis Shrubland". Beyond the importance of natu ...

. But the economy is tied up to the agriculture too. In fact Maruggio is famous for the oil and wine Primitivo.

Main sights

*Mother Church (15th century, rebuilt after the 1743 earthquake) *Church of San Giovanni Battista fuori le Mura (late 15th century) *Church of Sant'Eligio (late 16th century) *Church of Annunziata *Church and convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie (16th century). It has a cloister with Baroque frescoes depicting histories of Saints. *Palazzo dei Commendatori, former castle of Knights of Malta *Church of Santa Maria del Tempio * Caniglia's Palace * Covelli-De Marco's Palace * Longo's Palace (16th century) * Armieri's Palace (17th century) * Massafra's Palace (19th century) * Morleo's Palace (19th century).

References

{{authority control Cities and towns in Apulia Localities of Salento