Population: 23944
In total area: 57 kmXNUMX
Density: 414
Accessibility: The centre is 15 km away from Lecce, can be reached from SS. 101 Salentina-Gallipoli.
Common address of Copertino, Lecce: Piazza Municipio
Tel .: 0832 - 947953
Fax: 0832 - 933522
Copertino It is a city of art, enriched by precious historical monuments and famous for being the birthplace of Giuseppe Desa, the Saint of flights.
In 924, after the Saracens invaded Terra d'Otranto and destroyed Nardò with the nearby hamlets, all the surviving settlers of Santa Bàrbara, San Vito, Cigliano and Mollone, and after some time also those of Casale and Pozzovivo, gathered together to form a small village, which was given the name of Conventino o Let them convert, then Copertino.
Of notable historical interest is the majestic castle of Copertino, designed by architect Evangelista Menga.
Built in the Norman-Swabian era, it was enlarged and embellished by the Angevins.
On the left stands the Pinelli-Pignatelli porticoed palace.
The precious portal in Catalan-Durazzo style stands out, as does the Chapel of St. Mark, entirely frescoed by the Mannerist painter Gianserio Strafella and, inside the sixteenth-century residential rooms, the remains of the chapel, with fifteenth-century frescoes, discovered during the restoration works.
Among other important structures to visit they are cited
Copertino is also a land of excellent vineyards, including