What to see, where to eat, where to sleep in Maglie

1. that the entire peninsula of Salento had been a Greek colony;
2. The Greek language in some Salentine cities (belonging to Grecia Salentina);
3. The Greek church ritual used by some priests instead of the Latin one.

According to Macrì, Maglie was founded between the VIII and IX century AD.

In 1876 Commendant Luigi Maggiulli opened a work entitled “Historical and Municipal Documents concerning Maglie” on the same subject. He believes that Maglie was founded between the IX and XI century by Greek-Byzantine colonies, immigrated to the province under the reign of Basil I and Basil II, or most probably while Leo VI the Wise governed .
To support this study, Maggiulli affirms that some grecobizantine words are in use in our dialect and cites that there are two sales acts drawn up in 1118 and 1154 by Greek-born people.On April 13, 1882, during a conference at the Liceo Capece of Maglie, the Pugliese deputy Oronzo De Donno criticized the document prepared by Maggiulli and the book, considered worthless by him, of the archdeacon Macrì, supporting and certifying with certainty the foundation of Maglie in the eighth century AD.

Maglie the studies of Panarese: Coat of arms and the origin of the name

Recent studies, conducted by Emilio Panarese, invite a careful reflection on the origins of Maglie, starting with the study of the coat of arms of the city (created by the monk Luigi Tasselli From Casarano), the three rings that intersect.
Each ring would represent the fusion between the three masserie/farms: San Basilio, Sant’Egidio, San Vito.
According to Panarese, the name of the city would come from the Malli, the people who inhabited the union of the three farmhouses and not from the Messianic/Illyrian origin “Mal”, the meaning of which is high, top, mountain.

Where Maglie and its hamlet Morigino are: how to reach Maglie’s territory in the heart of Salento

The magliese territory is in the pulsating heart Of the Salento peninsula. Maglie was recognized city with Royal Decree on February 2, 1890, and in its territory it includes the territory of the hamlet of Morigno. Today, Maglie is an important economic hub and it is close to road and rail connections. Its location in the heart of Salento makes it close to all the major tourist centers such as:

• Lecce, railway junction and county seat of the province and often known for its Baroque style buildings that date back to the 1600s is 29 km far from Maglie;
• Gallipoli, seaside resort: 40 km;
• Otranto, pearl of seaside tourism: 16 km;
• Santa Maria di Leuca de Finibus Terræ: 40 km;
• Brindisi and its airport: 70 km.

Maglie: the map of the city

Maglie: the is the largest shopping center in Italy.

n addition to being the most comfortable center to reach the tourist and seaside resorts, Maglie is an open-air shopping mall: up until very shortly it was the capital of Italian shopping for densities of shops for inhabitant.
In this small town you will have the opportunity to buy everything: fashion and accessories, quality wine and quality food, technology, sports goods and handicrafts.
In addition to these, Maglie offers to its visitors an artistic and cultural repertoire made up of Baroque churches, findings of historical interest such as dolmen, menhirs (dating back to pre-history), templar parietal churches, and a paleontological museum among the most important in Europe.

What to see in Maglie: Paleontological Museum Alca “De Lorentis”, the most important of Europe

In its centre Maglie hosts the fourth most important paleontological museum in Europe.
Inside the museum there are 4 main sections that build up a cultural and historical itinerary:

1. Geology and Paleontology,
2. Paleolithic and Prehistoric Art,
3. Neolithic and Age of Metals,
4. Ethnographic and sub-Saharan African art.

The first three thematic areas: Paleontology, Paleolithic and Neolithic

Visiting the museum is like taking a 65 million year long trip, from the Cetacean to the Iron Age.
Each showcase emphasizes the natural, wildlife and human environment of Salento: from the striking coral reef that embraced the coasts of Salento 35 million years ago, to the lagoons of the Paleolithic microclimatic environment, passing through the wildlife study. Hippos, hyenas and rhinos that lived next to the Neanderthal Man, the Alca Impennis penguin now extinct, and the Mammouth that lived next to Homo Sapiens during the last phase of the Ice Age.
All discoveries about prehistoric people were discovered near the sea in the famous Romanelli Cave and Cervi Cave near Badisco Port, important findingss discovered in the area of Otranto and the Alimini Lakes and in the nearby areas of Cattie and St. Sidero in Maglie.

African and Etnographic art: Santini Room

The Ethnographic section, inaugurated in 2009, exposes a very rare sub-Saharan art collection donated by the Tuscan scholar Santini, to the Civic Museum of Maglie in 2003.
This thematic area consists of 120 findings in bronze, ivory, stone, wood of great tribal tribes and great kingdoms.
In addition, two rifles were used for poaching and “big hunting” of large specimens of African animals such as lions, elephants and rhinos.

What to see in Maglie: the churches and the baroque monuments

Maglie, while being a small town, encloses a precious artistic and cultural heritage, made up of churches, monuments and ancient palaces.
We advise you to visit them because it is really worth it.

Church of the Madonna of Miracles: simple and liney outside, rich of frescoes and paintings in the inside

There are few news in our possession on this baroque masterpiece. What has been discovered about this small Marian church comes from epigraphs and very few documents.
It was erected by the Archbishop of Otranto Marcello Acquaviva, the lay partnership of the Congregation settled in it 22 years later.
In 1645, the sculptor Giovanni Donato Chiarello (who was the author of several precious works in the churches of Casarano, Castrì, Melendugno and Squinzano) made up the structure formed by two pairs of columns on the main altar. In 1884 his sculptural skills were not appreciated and and, three year later, it was called another Ligurian sculptor Giulio Cesare Penna called “Il Vecchio”.
He made the portal in leccese stone with tortilla columns, leaning against the flamboyant Sculpture of the Virgin with the Child. This made the church look similar to the church of the Teresian in Lecce.
The prospect of the church is clean and almost minimalist, departing from the eccentric splendour of the churches that are symbol of the Lecce baroque.
The interior is characterized by a single nave plant. Inside many paintings and frescoes.
On the main aisle the image of the Virgin with the Child and around the Saints: Abbot Anthony, Basil, Anthony from Padua and along the perimeter of the Apostles.
The effigy of the Virgin is attributed to the painter from Lecce Cesare Verrio. The Apostles were made by Nicola Maria from Tuglie in 1659.
The tympan was attributed by some to Marco Antonio Fiorentino from Corigliano, follows the dictates of the Zimbalo school.
The frescoes of the nave vault date back to the 1700s and represent dancing angels and the expulsion of the Eden of Adam and Eve.

Church of Santa Maria of the steps: heritage of incredible beauty in its disarming semplicity

This church, belonging to the Order of the Conventual Friars, introduced to Maglie by Baron Antonio Lubelli in 1585 and then suppressed, stood on a blessed panoramic position. It was the most suitable environment for friars.
The church stood beside the hospital, run by the town and university after the order was abolished and the convent was assigned to the cloistered nuns, this structure became part of the hospital and the few cells left were used as lazaret for those who had been hit by the cholera epidemic.
The convent, by Michela Tamborino’s will, was assigned to the Congregation of Charity and, always for her will, it was enlarged and joined to the hospital, becoming an integral part of it.
There is nothing left of the former convent, unlike the church that has retained a good part of its initial features.
Equipped in 1668 with two altars dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary and the Virgin of Steps (work by Ambrogio Martinelli from Copertino), the church received in 1768 the prospectus with two orders and inside it stucco ornamentation were used for the vaults and for the altars naves.
The church was consecrated in 1751 and it was enriched by the splendid canvas of the Annunciation of the Virgin, made by Domenico Carella.

THE CAMPANILE OF THE COLLEGIATA: ITS “HEIGHT” STANDS OUT FOR 48 METERS AND DOMAINS THE CITY OF MAGLIE

16th-17th century: they are an image inserted above the altar of the church of Our Lady of Grace, the oldest imago urbis of Maglie and the engraving of Desmanlius-Berthauly in which the monument is supported by regent statues which were never realized.
The tower has a square plan, four floors, composed in the Doric, Jonic, Corinthian and Tuscanic style.
Everything is crowned by an octagonal cusp covered with polychrome majolica tiles.
Everything is dominated by a spherical globe, surmounted by a weathercock depicting St. Nicholas, the protector of the city.
You can admire it in its beauty beside the main Church and uplifting a group of ancient leccese stone buildings.

The Virgin Column: a beautiful Lady at the church of Thoughts

Emilio Panarese affirms that “in Maglie the stones tell more of the documents” given the almost total lack of archives and historical documents about the monuments.
Even in this case, the column, with its stones and its beauty, attracts the interest of many tourists visiting the town of Maglie.
We do not have any information about the author of this wonderful masterpiece in leccese stone, the typical white stone of Salento, still we can describe it in its details.
The column stands on a quadrangular base, with the statues of the four protectors of the city: the two bishops St. Nicholaus and St. Oronzo and the two confessors St. Anthony from Padua and St. Leonardo.
From the characteristics of the monument a consideration can be drawn: the monument dates certainly back after 1684 because its stand decorated with statues reminds of the marble column of St. Oronzo in Lecce, built by the Zimbalo in the merchants’s square in 1684. The same type of stand was also adopted at Leuca and Presicce.
Another reference to the artist Zimbalo can be seen from the ornament of the balustrades on which the plinth of the column is set and fixed and on which the statue of the Virgin and the Child emerges.

The baronal palace, currently the Institute Francesca Capece, High School

The baronial palace of Maglie belonged to the last feudors of Maglie, Baroni Capece of Barbarano. Following the wish of the Duchess Francesca Capece, the family’s goods and the Baron’s palace, were offered in 1843 to the Society of Jesus so that the young people in the place could have a free education: the Gymnasium, a type of education based on the knowledge of Ancient Greek and Latin that lasted for two years and that was dedicated to students aged 13 to 15, was thus founded.
Around 1860, the possessions of the Countess became property of the State and later of the Municipality.
The buildings, rather than a Baron’s palace, is truly a castle. Indeed, it has a fort with three towers, two with a square plan and one with a circular plan, that is the tower of St. Eligio.
Under the estate of Ascanio Filomarino, the fort was in ruins and, for this reason, Ascanio decided to overthrow it and rebuild a building that could be the symbol of the power and splendor of his family. But Philomarine’s lordship was short and, due to the many debts, the building was sold. In 1749 Giuseppe Pasquale Capece Castriota, a learned baron, cared for this magnificent estate by embellishing its prospect, placing his own heraldry on the entrance door and crowning the front of the building with a beautiful balustrade.
Recently, the graffiti of the secrets and prisons dating back to 1600 were discovered during the renovation work.
Graffiti, animals, demonic figures, names of people and verdicts engraved in the walls of the basement have made the walls of this well-known high school an incredibly valued heritage of history.

The Church of the Madonna of the Sorrows: a small masterpiece near the green area of Maglie

One of the oldest churches in Maglie, the Church of the Madonna of the Sorrows was built in honor of the sorrows of the Virgin Mary.
The eighteenth-century documents reveal that this beautiful and small church stood in a green area, full of spring water wells that were a destination of ancient walks.
Built between 1720 and 1726, little is known about those who designed and built it, inspired by the compositional canons of the Romanesque churches of the second half of the 20th century, the façade, narrow and little articulated, is featured by the elasticity of the single elements . The latter give the sobriety and elegance to the building.
The interior, with a single nave, is spectacular in its simplicity: tall and covered with stone vault featured with “sharp” profile of the pilasters of the the higher altar and the two opposing side altars: one of the altar is dedicated to the Virgin of Constantinople and the other is dedicated to the beauty of the Cross; both are close to the entrance door.
There are many details that recall the artist Manieri, indeed the artists who set up the interior have repeatedly referred to him. Next to the main altar, on both sides, however, there are two small altars: one is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin and the other to St. John the Baptist.
The latter has been attributed to Julius Caesar Penna “The Old” for the style and the scholarship of the detail: the limbs of the angels make right reference to Manieri.
The furnishings of the church are the result of:

• Saverio Nicolazzi of Minervino and heirs;
• The priest Saverio De Donno from Maglie;
• The painters Anselmo De Simone, Giuseppe Manganello and Luigi Portaluri, to whom are due respectively the “Vision of St. Anthony from Padua”, the” Vision of the Madonna of the Sorrows on Mount Senario”,”St. Philip Benizi” and the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross;
• The carved niche made of walnut wood in which the statue of the Virgin of the Sorrows is enclosed, and the pair of angels wearing lamps on the sides of the main altar are attributed to the jewelers Giuseppe, Nicola, Gregorio Micolano and Giuseppe Conte.

The collegiata: the main church of Maglie

The anonymous description of the main church of Maglie, inserted in the State of the Churches of 1793, does not provide us with any data about its building. It is known that this beautiful church was built thanks to the donations of citizens and the clergy between 1750 and 1760.
Dedicated to St. Nicholas, the protector of the city, the Great Church or Matrix / Mother church is a prominent work for local architecture.
Linear and clean outside, baroque inside, beautiful.
little is known about the authors of the project. Around 1966, Don Benjamin Rainò, discovered in Felice De Palma from Alessano, the author of this
beautiful project for the town of Maglie: some original designs of the cathedral of Alessano were designed by De Palma, with the same external and internal features of the church of Maglie. Through the comparison of the two designs, it became evident that the artistic taste was in common for the two cathedrals: the chiaroscuro and the convex surfaces combined with the concave ones to give dynamism to the spaces were a clear attestation of the paternity of the project to De Palma.
The plan is a Latin cross with three aisles distinct from majestic pillars, and the main altar along with the two on both sides in the transept are artistically relevant for they were all carved by hand.
Emanuele Orfano from Alessano sculpted the three altars:

1. The major is a typical altar in Roman style, i.e. with the table resting on the Eucharistic custody surmounted by the sides, where we find the statue of Our Lady of Mercy with St. Peter and St. Paul;
2. In the right arm of the transept we find the altar of St. Nicholas, protector of the city;
3. In the left one, the altar of St. Oronzo.

The pictorial works that are inside the church are as follows:

• The Virgin with the Child and St. Augustine;
• St. Gaetano from Thiene and St. Francis from Paola;
• The Last Supper;
• The Glory of St. Nicholas;
• The preaching of St. Just;
• The martyrdom of St. Oronzo;
• S. Nicholas that abducts Adeodate and The Visiting of the Virgin.

Church of St.Anthony Abbot and the curch of the Sacred Heart: in the historical center of Maglie

The church of St. Anthony Abbot is tiny and it is located in the historic center of Maglie.
Initially it was a parish, then it was joined to the modern church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
It is one of the oldest churches of Maglie because it dates back to the 14th century. It was completely rebuilt in the 15th century and it is mentioned in various documents of the fifteenth century.
The interior is made of two aisles and the star vault cover is elegantly frescoed.
Two angels surmount the entrance door and hold the city coat of arms.
Inside the church there is a statue of St Anthony Abbot and the foundling wheel: a mechanical wheel that was used centuries ago, to leave babies at the care of the clergy.
Since 1959 it is no longer a parish.

The Church of the Sacred Heart: it is a modern and essential church

The Church of the Sacred Heart: it is a modern and essential church and it is a hundred meters away from the church of St. Anthony Abbot.
The structure is modern because of its recent construction: the first stone was laid in 1949 and the oratory was built around the 1960s.
Designed by the architect Provenzano, it is a single-nave temple.
The main altar is made of marble and behind it is a beautiful mosaic of the Vatincan School depicting the Sacred Heart of Jesus during the apparition to S. Margaret of Alalocque. In the same school, the other two mosaics: the one depicting St. Lucy and that of the Virgin of
Syracuse.
The painting of S. Antonio Abate is old, while the most recent ones are those of St. Anthony from Padua and of the Virgin of the Rosary, authored
by the magliese artist Antonio Montefusco.

The Church of the Saints Physicians Cosma and Damian.

Along the way to Lecce, a few steps from Column of the Miracles, stands this small church dedicated to the Saints Physicians Cosma and Damian. It was built in the years between 1884 and 1897, with only public offers coming from ex-vote collected by Friar Luigi, who was very devoted to St. Cosma and Damian.
The church is a central oval plant, embellished by 5 altars and, among them, the main dedicated to the SS. Doctors is the one that stands out most of all.
Next to the church, it was built the bell tower.
The town devotion to these saints is very lively, so much so that every year on September 26th, the statues of the Saints are brought into procession through the streets.

St. Mary of Costantinople: the church of the friars

In 1884 a church with the same name was in Piazza Municipio, nowadays called Piazza Francesca Capece. It was demolished and reconstructed not far from there. Bishop Morelli, in 1884, blessed the first stone of this church devoted to the worship of Our Lady.
In 1893, after several economic changes, the works came to an end.
The completed work was inaugurated in 1895.
The main altar is by the Maestro Manzione from Naples, while the side altars were built by the bricklayers’ master and are dedicated to St. Mary of Constantinople and to the Madonna of the Rosary.
Later on, few more altars were erected: an altar dedicated to St. Joseph, the altar of the Madonna of the Carmine (with the beautiful picture dating to 1895 painted by Mangionello) and the altar of St. Joseph Proto donated by Antonio Lezzi and, last but not least, the altar of the Crucifix
donated by Joseph Romano.
We advise you to see the various statues inside the confessional room on the left of the altar: among them, the one of St. Anthony Abbot is of exquisite make.
Next to the church a monastery and a bell tower were erected.

Church of St. Mary Immaculate: the newest church in the city of Maglie

The church of St. Mary Immaculate is the newest church in the city of Maglie that was designed by the architect Provenzano in 1967 and completed in 1973, this
Church is the most recently built in the town of Maglie.
Large and spacious, it can accommodate 1000 people. The interior is minimalist and sober, the exterior is in Pompeian red and marble.
Inside there is the Vatican school mosaic depicting the Immaculate Conception, the marble altar created with the stations
of the Way of the Cross by Joseph Sisinni, the wooden crucifix by Joseph Conte, the painting of the seventeenth-century school depicting the Immaculate Madonna, belonging to the Council of Maglie but entrusted to the church.

Garzya Palace: The Spiers’ Palace, in the heart of Maglie

Built in the early 1800’s, it is in the possession of the High School F. Capece.
The peculiarity of this beautiful palace is a circular small and low tower, located on the southeastern side of the prospect, through which the “spiers” could control everything that was happening in the very crowded square of Maglie.
Recently, this palace has been used as setting for a movie, “Il Prefetto di Ferro”, based on the true story of the Prefect Mori.

The Town Hall, the monument to Francesca Capece and the statue of Aldo Moro: a concentrate of beauty to see a few meters away from the historic city center

In the center of Maglie, in Aldo Moro square, you can admire the Town Hall building and the monument to F. Capece.

Town Hall: brief description

Built in the first half of the 1800s, the building originally provided with a ground floor with five arcades used for the weekly market, two rooms for the Conciliator Offices, a room for the Chief Ward and the prisons.
The first floor was reserved for the Royal Judge and the Municipal Administration. On the prospect you can admire the public watch, whose mechanism is located at the top of the building.

The monument to F. Capece

In front of the town hall, it stands the monument to Francesca Capece. This
is a splendid Carrara white marble work and it was made by Anthony Bortone of Ruffano. The statue depicts Francesca Capece, the last feudary of Maglie, who, sitting on an armchair, comforts a child who, in the right hand has a cross, symbol of faith, and a book representing the knowledge. In the left hand the child has a shield, which represents strength.
These themes, as mentioned above, were dear to Francesca Capece.
In fact, for this reason, she donated all her possessions for the education of young people.
This work was inaugurated in 1900.

The statue and the house of Aldo Moro: the famous statesman statue assassinated by the Red Brigades.

Not far from the Town Hall, in St. Joseph rd. there is the statue of Aldo Moro, in front of the house that gave birth to the famous statesman, today used as the headquarters of the University of the Third Age.
Inaugurated in 1992 by Scalfaro, at the time the President of the Republic, the monument represents the statesman, thoughtfully intent on walks, with the Paper “L’Unità”. This was because he had always sought to mediate between the interests of his party, Christian Democracy, and the interests of the Communist Party when he was alive.

The “green lung” of the city of Maglie, for those who love outdoor nature and fitness: the Tamborino Villa

Tamborino Villa, designed by Tommaso Pispico for the senator Achille Tamborino, was originally a private garden of the ancient Palazzo Tamborino. The accesso to the park is a neoclassical pavilion sculptured with floral motifs.
At the end of the main avenue there is an octagonal belvedere, under which artificial caves frescoed with marine scenes were created.
The park is inspired by English gardens and today is open to the public access, because it was donated to the town of Maglie.
During the summer it is used for theater and music events and shows.

Where to sleep in Maglie: ancient palaces, bed and breakfast, charming and fascinating buildings and an equipped hotel

Maglie and people from Maglie are famous for the cult of hospitality: they love to make their guests and the tourists feel at home. Over the years, innumerable small, charming buildings have been refurbished for hosting tourists, and charming hotels have arisen beside the historic but upgraded, City hotel.

Hotel Rodia: a comfortable three stars, remodeled hotel

The hotel was completely refurbished. It offers treatments in half board and full board and good indoor restaurant service, where you can taste local dishes and recipes.
The rooms are superior, classic, triple and quadruple, well equipped, with an en suite bathroom.

Corte dei Granai: a relais of charm in the heart of the historic center

Part of a wider project of design hotels in the heart of the historic center, the Corte dei Granai is the flagship of the historic center of Maglie thanks to the recovery of ancient houses.
Rooms have original names, from the Senator Cappelli suite to the Odysseus room, and the comfort is of the highest standard. You will experience the private sauna in your room, the hot tub, complimentary wifi, safety box and linens changed daily.
Great breakfast service as well as superb location, in the heart of the city, immersed in the silence because the building is in a closed area and away from traffic noise. Private parking is included in the price.
Book in advance is advised.

Belami: a historic residence used as a 4 star hotel, gourmet restaurant with prestigious wine list and café.

Bel Ami is next to the church and the Column of Our Lady of Miracles. The architectural project for the recovery of this beautiful stately building has been a success. A glass ceiling that serves as a skylight illuminates the cafeteria.
The rooms are suites with all amenities, free wi-fi and top-level restaurant service. The winery is unique and, inside,
you can find some real gems.
The furnishings are modern, minimalist and the lighting of the structure is elegant.
We recommend you to book here for your holidays or for your meetings and business dinners.

Maglie where to eat: the best restaurants to taste the flavors of our territory

Maglie meets the palate and tastes of all: from the meat restaurant to the fish restaurant, passing by take away and gourmet pizzerias.
Every restaurant will have something to tell you and a thousand valid reasons to tell.
Let’s proceed with order: from the meat restaurant to the fish restaurant, in a few steps.

Allegra scottona: the world of roasted meat, told by Max

The place is spartan, wooden tables, spotless local and courteous staff.
Max can advise you on your next piece of scottona meat or a tenderloin.
He will advise you and give you the best. Let him do it.
Great selection of meats kept in a spectacular fridge. You will find superb Italian meat and foreign meats: black angus, tomahawk US, Danish fillets. All accompanied by excellent local extra virgin olive oil and a selection of targeted Italian and foreign salts. The side dishes are exceptional.
We advise you to book because tables go fast, above all during evenings with live music events.

Bel Ami restaurant and winery: a hotel that can tempt its guests

As mentioned earlier, Bel Ami is a hotel with restaurant, winery and cafe.
A truly comprehensive offer for its guests.
The beautiful hotel restaurant stands out for its excellent service, full wine list and excellent food. We suggest you try fresh fish: Gallipoli red prawns and seafood will cheer your meals.
Obviously these are our preferences. If you do not really know what to eat, let the staff, competent and professional, guide your choice.
The restaurant, besides having a hundred indoor seats, offers the opportunity to eat outdoor, within the interior space of the structure.
Highly recommended in the summer, in the evenings of the spring when the heat and the afa are unbearable.

La Locanda dei Semplici (The inn of the simple): the new fish restaurant belongs to a family of restaurateurs.

Fabrizio, patron of the restaurant “Locanda dei Semplici” (belongs to a family of restaurateurs, owner of “Il Baffo” in Otranto, a cult place for eating on the lungomare). Last year it has begun a new concept for fish restaurant in the town of Maglie.
The place is really small, cozy and the food is really good.
From appetizers to dessert it is all prepared with care. We suggest you take the menu, read it carefully and follow your instinct, because it’s all very good. From the spaghettone with the “mugnules” to the tuna fillet with sesame, it is all fresh and tasty.
In case of doubt and uncertainty, Eva will know how to advise you.
Booking is highly recommended, above all in the Summer. Lama Square is gracious and romantic and the tables go fast. We already talk about ithere.

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