Muro Leccese: Churches, Menhir and Via Salentina

Holiday apartment in Muro Leccese: History and church art

Muro Leccese combines Messapian traces, Byzantine art, Baroque interiors and the history of the Via Salentina. For travel planning, this creates a broad spectrum of archaeological sites, church interiors and a walk through the historic centre.

Archaeological traces and accessible culture

The Mura Messapiche are an open-air archaeological site accessible to everyone. The Trice Menhir is 430 centimetres high and stands in the square of the same name near the Byzantine church of Santa Marina.

The Museo Diffuso di Borgo Terra displays objects, ceramics and everyday implements from the Messapian era, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The facilities include guided tours in Braille, audio guides for blind and visually impaired visitors, and a tactile experience. Access is via Piazza del Popolo, where there is an access ramp.

Underground history in the Palazzo del Principe

The underground rooms of the Palazzo del Principe contain large monolithic containers made of Lecce stone for storing oil. They also include loopholes for defending the 16th-century castle, as well as a prison room with graffiti and incisions made by prisoners. The semi-underground Frantoio semi-ipogeo dei Protonobilissimo was built by 1602 at the latest.

Church art spanning many eras

The Chiesa dell’Annunziata was built between 1680 and 1693 over an older, smaller place of worship. Its interior has three naves and a short transept, a star vault, and a high altar from the first half of the 17th century that comes from the church of the Dominican monastery. The Chiesa di Santa Marina is an important example of Byzantine architecture and preserves a fresco cycle created before 1087 depicting the life and work of Saint Nicholas.

The Chiesa di Santa Maria di Miggiano is a Byzantine building dating from the 14th to the 16th century and the only surviving testimony to the ancient hamlet of Miggiano. Its frescoes were created in different periods from 1300 to 1700. The Chiesa dell’Immacolata is a late Baroque building from the 18th century, constructed between 1778 and 1787. A barrel vault with lunettes covered in Rococo stucco and six paintings depicting scenes from the life of the Madonna define the interior.

Historic routes and green surroundings

The Via Salentina is a historic main road connecting Muro Leccese with Maglie and Poggiardo; its origins date back to the Messapian era. Today, it is walked as one of the most important streets in the historic centre of Muro Leccese. This makes it possible to experience the town through its history of routes and at your own pace while exploring.

Muro Leccese is around 33 kilometres by car from Lecce. The approach follows the SS16 Adriatica to the exit for Maglie and then continues approximately five kilometres inland. In the area of the former hamlet of Brongo stands the Chiesa del Santissimo Crocifisso di Brongo, now located in the green Parco del SS. Crocifisso.

Further places for travel planning: Guagnano, Tricase, Vernole, Galatone, Frigole, Marittima, Ortelle, Casarano

For the higher-level travel overview: Lecce.