Gallipoli, the beautiful city with the oldest fountain in the world

Marco Laggetta 14 April 2022

Pearl of the Ionian, Gallipoli derives from the Greek Kale Polis or “beautiful city”. Both names fit it perfectly because Gallipoli, an urban nucleus of ancient foundation and colony of Magna Graecia, is surrounded by the sea and from the sea it seems to rise like a shell that opens and reveals its pearl.

It seems that it was founded by Idomeneo Lizio, a Cretan warrior fleeing from Troy, in 1150 BC. His shield with the effigy of a rooster stands triumphantly on the city's coat of arms today. You don't have to be an attentive and scrupulous observer to immediately notice, when visiting the city, the strong contrast between the new and the old that coexist side by side without ever truly integrating. On one side, the new city with its residential complexes, its beaches and its nightlife; on the other, the ancient village, perched on an island with its castle, walls, bastions, towers and then a maze of streets and alleys that bear witness to the succession of historical eras and dominations. After crossing the long Corso Roma made of shop windows, music and psychedelic lights, just pass the Greek Fountain, the Renaissance monument that announces the handover between present and past, with its superb baroque pediment, and take the Pope John Paul II bridge to enter History. The Angevin fortress, almost completely surrounded by the sea, immediately shows off its majestic towers, but it also hides a treasure of galleries, corridors and magnificent rooms. The fish market, located in the original moat of the castle, spreads the smell of the sea like a promise. Getting lost in the streets of the center is at the same time being transported by these smells. Religious architecture predominates over civil architecture. From the Church of S. Cristina, which celebrates the saint who freed the city from the plague, to the Baroque Cathedral dedicated to Sant’Agata, patron saint of Gallipoli, located at the highest point of the old city, what unfolds before your eyes, one church after another, is a true art gallery collection with paintings by artists such as Coppola, Catalano, De Mura, Strafella, and Malinconico. “Giro della Padella” (Tour of the Pan), this is the name given to the route taken on foot in the old town, a route that from above reveals its circular shape, with the seventeenth-century bridge acting as the handle of this large imaginary pan. And in the tour of the pan, between churches and historic homes, you soon end up encountering the smells and aromas of Salento cuisine. From the scapece of Gallipoli, to the fish soups with typical red prawns, the stop is as exciting as the journey.

di Federica Giustiziero

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Gallipoli, the beautiful city with the oldest fountain in the world

Written by Marco Laggetta

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Gallipoli, the beautiful city with the oldest fountain in the world

Written by Marco Laggetta

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