Barbarano del Capo
Barbarano del Capo is a small village in southern Salento, a hamlet of Morciano di Leuca, 61 km from the provincial capital. The village, home to 952 inhabitants, lies in the valley between Serra Falitte to the west and Serra di Montesardo to the east; it stands at about 130 m above sea level and its terrain is mainly karstic.
The village, known for its two karst sinkholes, borders the small town of Ruggiano and is equidistant from Montesardo, Giuliano di Lecce and San Dana.
The origin of the name
As already mentioned, the roots of Barbarano del Capo go back to the invasion of the Saracens, who destroyed the city of Veretum in the 9th century. With the arrival of the Normans, King Tancredi d’Altavilla granted the fief to Lancellotto Capece, whose family left a mark of its presence by building an important artistic and military monument: a fortified tower. Four houses in turn ruled the village: the Capece, followed by the dell’Antoglietta family (1297 – 1350), then the D’Aquino for one generation, with the dell’Antoglietta returning for fifty years and the Capece reappearing from 1442 until 1817.
Places of interest
Capece Tower
The Capece family built the Castle of Barbarano, of which the military tower remains. Bibliographical research shows that the Capece Tower was 18 m high and was once surrounded by a moat about 2 metres deep, filled in during the last century. The lintel of the castle’s entrance door bears an imposing noble coat of arms recalling the family’s aristocratic origins, together with a carved date, 1505, which leaves no doubt as to when the castle was built. The structure has three floors: the first served as a guard post; the second is reached by a small winding staircase, typical of 16th-century towers. This floor features four small rectangular windows facing the four cardinal points, which made it possible to keep watch over the surroundings of the fortified building. On the terrace there are seven arched openings where weapons could be positioned to strike the enemy. A large inner courtyard lies on the ground floor, overlooked by the living quarters and various service rooms, including a stable. The area beneath the courtyard is completely hollow; a huge cavity about 13 metres deep formed a reservoir able to supply the community with water for months on end.
Leuca Piccola
Small Barbarano del Capo was once called “Leuca Piccola”, as it was a landmark for pilgrims seeking “shelter” before reaching the “end of the earth”, the Sanctuary De Finibus Terrae at Santa Maria di Leuca, the first step towards seeking redemption for one’s sins and gaining entry to Paradise, according to legend.
Santa Maria di Leuca del Belvedere
The Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Leuca del Belvedere, part of the Leuca Piccola monumental complex, was commissioned by Baron Francesco Annibale Capece and built between 1685 and 1709. It was conceived as a place of prayer and rest. The pilgrims’ journey to their final destination was long and arduous, winding along a whole series of small paths across the Salento hinterland, punctuated by countless places of worship and resting points where pilgrims found refreshment before setting off again. In the Leuca Piccola complex, in fact, there was not only a church for prayer but also an inn for refreshment, underground rooms with niches for resting, wells for water supply, and stables and mangers for horses and other domestic animals.
The little church for prayer is adorned with numerous frescoes that enrich its walls, almost all dedicated to the saints dearest to Salento popular tradition (San Lazzaro, Sant’Oronzo, Santa Barbara, San Francesco da Paola, Santa Marina, Santa Lucia, San Pasquale, San Gennaro, San Leonardo and the 4 Evangelists). Particularly fine are the two confessionals carved out of the rock. In 1711 Monsignor De Rossi, following a visit to Barbarano, named the monumental complex Santa Maria di Leuca del Belvedere to distinguish it from the Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Leuca.
Mother Church of San Lorenzo
The weight and importance of religion in the small rural village of Barbarano del Capo is shown by another building, the Mother Church of San Lorenzo.
The building dates from the mid-16th century and was rebuilt after the Church of Santo Stefano was destroyed by the Turks in 1537. It was built at the behest of Mario Capece, a local feudal lord who thought it better to place it outside the town centre, where it could be more easily defended.
The church, in neo-Romanesque style, has Baroque altars dedicated to San Lorenzo, the Madonna del Rosario, the Madonna Immacolata and San Francesco d’Assisi. The altar of San Lorenzo is under the patronage of the Capece family and is topped by a large canvas by the painter Fra Angelo da Copertino. The high altar dates from 1723, while the roof, with its star vault decorated with stucco, was replaced in 1773.
Vora Grande and Vora Piccola
Not far from the Santa Maria di Leuca del Belvedere monumental complex are the karst sinkholes, Vora Grande and Vora Piccola, certainly among the best-known karst cavities in the whole province of Lecce. They are two natural cavities, 34 m (Vora Grande) and 25 m (Vora Piccola) deep, both with a composite morphology. A walkway cut along their walls allows visitors to reach intermediate depths inside without the need for specialist equipment. The term “vora” is dialectal and refers to a karst depression or cavity, mainly vertical, into which surface water can flow. The term is therefore a synonym of “karst swallow hole”.
