Acquarica Del Capo
Acquarica del Capo was a town and comune in the province of Lecce, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. In 2019 it was merged with the adjacent Presicce to form Presicce-Acquarica.
It is located in Salento, 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. 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.
- 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 Salento.
- Fortified masseria of Celsorizzo. A huge Norman Tower with Byzantine frescoes in the Chapel at its base.
- Church of Madonna di Pompignano
References
- ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Population from ISTAT
- ^ "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, ISBN 9788890366901