Specchia

The small village of Specchia is in the heart of Salento, roughly at fifteen kilometres from the sea, on one of the highest hills of the surroundings, rich in maquis and century-old olive trees.nIts name comes from the heap of dry stones piled in cone, called “specchia”, used as lookout position to defend against the enemy. In the Middle Ages the “specchia” of stones was called Specla de Amygdalis, referring to the several almond trees spread throughout the area, depicted also in the civic crest of the village. Its sixteenth-century historical centre was largely revalorized and today Specchia is among the 100 most beautiful villages in Italy. In a central position we find Protonobilissimo Risolo Castle, a sixteenth-century fortified structure which was then renovated in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Over the years it was owned by different aristocratic families and today it belongs to Risolo family.
In 1531 the Church and the Friary of Black Franciscans were built. The Chapel of Santa Caterina Martire dates back to 1532; its crypt is sustained by 36 small columns along four lines and its walls are decorated with Byzantine frescoes. The Parish Church, Assunta Church and Sant’Antonio Church, with the annexed Dominican Friary, were built approximately in 1660. San Nicola Church dates back to the IXth-Xth centuries, though it was restored and conformed to the Latin rite in 1587. The most important monument in Specchia is Santa Eufemia Church, dating back to the IXth-Xth centuries, with Greek rite and built according to the Byzantine architectural styles. We should not forget the Hypogean Oil-Mills, which have been recently renovated, the symbol of the main activity in the land of Puglia: olive oil production. These structures, spread throughout the territory of Cape of Leuca, represented the main economic resource in the Land of Otranto under the Kingdom of Naples.
In the labyrinth of small lanes in the historical centre of Specchia we can admire houses and palaces with Catalan or baroque portals, cornices of Lecce stone, Latin inscriptions, wrought iron arcades, Lombard bands, friezes, statues, columns and votive aedicules with sacred images.