Specchia

Member of I Borghi più belli d'Italia

The name comes from the specchie, conical stone mounds the Messapians used as lookouts. The town stands on a rise at the foot of the Serra Magnone, inland in lower Salento between the Ionian and Adriatic seas, among olive groves terraced with dry-stone walls and dotted with pajare. Being far from the coast, it took in people fleeing the Turks after Otranto fell in 1480.

Highlights

Palazzo Risolo, a 16th-century palace on the site of the medieval castle
The Church of Santa Eufemia, dating from the 9th or 10th century
Church and convent of the Francescani Neri, from the early 16th century
The feast of San Nicola on 7 and 8 May, and a living nativity
Cardigliano, a farming village built in 1930 to process tobacco

Text adapted from Wikipedia (Specchia (IT), Specchia (EN)), Wikivoyage (Specchia (IT), Specchia (EN)). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Population: 4,569

Events through the year

Fiera della Candelora Fairs and markets · 2 February
Festa e Fiera di San Nicola Religious · Second Sunday of MayPatronal feast of Saint Nicholas with a fair
Notte bianca Music and arts · One night in summer
Festa e Fiera della Madonna del Passo Religious · 8 to 10 SeptemberFeast and fair of the Madonna del Passo
Presepe Vivente nel Borgo Antico Seasonal · 25 December to 6 JanuaryLiving nativity scene in the old village

Dates follow the traditional patterns in our sources: check locally before you travel.

Adapted from Wikipedia (Specchia), Wikivoyage (Specchia). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Specialities of Apulia

Typical of the region rather than of this village.

Giuseppe NigroOrecchiette su tavoliere in legno CC BY-SA 4.0
OrecchietteBread and pastaPasta with turnip tops, meat ragù or other sauces
Popo le ChienBurrata2 CC0
BurrataCheeseMozzarella shell filled with stracciatella and cream; Andria is protected
NikototaPane-di-altamura-dop-official CC BY-SA 4.0
Pane di AltamuraBread and pastaPDO bread made entirely with durum wheat flour
ElfmirFocacciaBarese CC BY-SA 4.0
Focaccia barese (IT)Bread and pasta
HaragayatoTarallini2Public domain
TaralliBread and pastaRing-shaped crackers of flour, olive oil and white wine, often with fennel
Morena zottiPanzerotti fatti in casa CC BY-SA 4.0
PanzerottiDish