Itineraries
Distance from Ostuni 10 km.
The
area of Ceglie Messapica is located between the Murge and the Upper
Salento: its typical elements include trulli, farms, lamie (typical
southern single room square dwellings), rupestrian churches, carsic
caves, dolinas, specchie and paretoni (remains of city walls),
dry-stone walls, olive groves, vineyards, maquis shrub, ancient oak
trees, cattle pastures and arable land. According to legend, it was founded by the Pelasgi, to whom belonged the megalithic structures known as specchie. After the arrival of Greek colonists around 700 BC, it received the name of Kailìa (Greek: Καιλία; Latin: Caelia).
Nearby the village were extraurban sanctuaries dedicated to the God
Apollo (near the modern church of San Rocco) and Venus (on the
Montevicoli hill). The city was the military
capital of the Messapi (the civil capital being located in the nearby
Oria), and fought against the Greek city Taranto in the latter's attempt
to gain a passage to the Adriatic Sea. The Messapic Ceglie had some
40,000 inhabitants. In Roman times it was already decaying, and in the
Middle Ages was a small village known as Celie de Galdo,
with a little castle. After several minor families, in 1584 its fief
was given to the Sanseverino family, who enlarged the castle and founded
two convents for the Capuchines (now disappeared) and for the
Dominicans. Font : wikipedia
For more information : www.ceglieturismo
