Cannole (Cànnule in Salento dialect; Κάννουλα, Cànnula in Griko) is located in eastern Salento, 3 km from the protected oasis of the Alimini lakes and 9 km from Otranto. It is part of the Association of Authentic Villages of Italy. At the beginning of the 19th century, together with Sogliano Cavour, Cursi, Cutrofiano and the current municipalities of Grecìa Salentina, it was part of the Decatría Choría, that is, the thirteen villages of Terra d’Otranto that preserved the Greek language and traditions.
Already inhabited in the Bronze Age, as demonstrated by the various menhirs present in the area, the urban center seems to have been founded in the 12th century by some inhabitants of the nearby hamlets who escaped the devastation wrought by the Norman William the Bad by hiding among the thick reeds of the area (from which the name derives). In the late Middle Ages it was part of the County of Lecce and the Principality of Taranto. It was a fief of the Personé and the Granafei, marquises of Sternatia and barons of Cannole, who contributed significantly to the growth of the town. From the 18th century until the mid-20th century, the historical events of Cannole were linked to the noble Villani family (of the patrician branch of Sanseverino), from which descends the well-known doctor-surgeon Giuseppe Villani (1863-1933), author of numerous publications but who went down in history above all for having saved the life of Princess Mafalda of Savoy when she was still an infant.
Noteworthy and worthy of a visit are the ancient Votive Column of Osanna, built entirely of Lecce stone and constructed in the 16th century, after the Turkish raids in Salento; the Castle built in 1413 by the Orsini del Balzo and later transformed into a stately palace; the Mother Church of the Mother of God, built between the 16th and 17th centuries, which has a baroque façade crowned by a crescent-shaped gable in the center and a vault entirely frescoed with 18th-century paintings.
Every year, on the second weekend of August, the Festa della Municeddha is held here, created to preserve and promote ancient local gastronomic traditions, in particular the collection and consumption of snails, and which over the years has become one of the most celebrated and attended gastronomic events of the Salento summer, in the name of art and traditional music.
Mustaccioli
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