The ancient history of a village halfway between the Murgia land and the Valle d'Itria
The ancient history of a town near the Murgia land
Thanks to the numerous finds of coins, shards, vases and weapons found in the sepulchres within and outside the walls of the village it has been possible to understand the age of the country that most likely dates back to the earliest Greek settlements. Currently, dialects of the ancient Greek dialect are still used in local dialect formulas.
In Christian rituality, some symbologies from Greek mythology have also been retained, such as the ascension of Jesus to heaven, which is recalled in the city, with mint branches and first fruits (a clear reference to the myth of Proserpine: it is said that Proserpina seeing Pluto infatuated from the mortal Mentha, infuriated, he transformed her from a budding young girl, giving her a strongly sedative scent.
Another denotative element is represented by the caves that characterize this territory, hypogeums probably inhabited in prehistoric times. Going back to historical documents it was once called Castrum, but Leandro Alberti in a detailed description of 1581 in his "Description of the whole of Italy" calls it Nobilissimo Castello. In the early days of urban settlement, the circumference measured 150 steps, about 225 meters and in 1442 it counted 106 families.
In 1700 the circumference went up to 500 steps, or 750 meters and the families became 1500, there were about 7000 inhabitants. It was considered the eighth city of the kingdom of Naples, in size and population. Unfortunately, the ancient walls and towers were plots and the moats filled for the construction in 1876 of the Estramurale. The ancient buildings that enriched the town have almost completely disappeared, only in some ravines it is still possible to see some precious remains victoriously resisted by time and by the neglect of man, many fortunately recognized as national monuments in 1905.