A few kilometers from the Cesine Nature Reserve, there is a village nestled between the strings of time.
Acaya is a small hamlet in the municipality of Vernole, in the province of Lecce.
It is a fortified city, with an orthogonal street grid, characteristic of 16th century southern Italy.
An intact medieval citadel.
A bit of history:
The work represents the architectural genius of Gian Giacomo dell’Acaya, royal military engineer of Charles V.
The purpose that led him to fortify the old village of Segine, later renamed Acaya from the name of his family, arose from the idea that it could perform defensive functions, being close to the sea.
The castle, dating back to 1535/36, has a trapezoidal structure surrounded by rectangular-shaped walls and a moat.
The interior is accessed through a Renaissance door located next to the north-east tower. The internal courtyard follows the external layout and from here you have access to the barrel-vaulted or cross-vaulted rooms, the prisons and the large stable located on the west side: inside the latter it is possible to note the presence of the remains of a stone oil mill built at the end of the 19th century.
From a staircase in the courtyard you can access the upper floor reserved for a noble residence.
Worthy of note is the elegant non-agonal hall, used for residential purposes, in which stands out the presence of a figurative frieze that covers the entire perimeter of the hall, also containing the effigies of Alfonso and Maria dell'Acaya.
During the renovation of the castle, traces of a medieval building emerged from the north side of the ancient manor, which later turned out to be a small Byzantine church and some tombs underneath it.
During the restoration work, a fresco was also found inside a cavity. It is a Dormitio Virginis dating back to the second half of the fourteenth century, approximately four meters by three.
The perfectly preserved depiction shows the Apostles witnessing the death of the Virgin and Jesus collecting her soul to present it to the Father, according to the iconographic tradition of the apocryphal Gospels.
Acaya Castle hosts a museum dedicated to the archaeological site of Roca, one of the oldest and most important settlements in the Bronze Age and Messapian era.
Read: Museum of Roca Civilization
Orecchiette Pasta
Sagnette Pasta
Maccheroni Pasta
Country Orecchiette
Leave a comment