Muro Leccese is an ancient center of Messapian origin, a past of which significant traces remain in the numerous archaeological finds still present. The settlement of Muro Leccese itself is due to the Messapians who, starting from the 8th century BC, transformed the town into an urban center. The ancient Messapian center was enclosed by a wall, as evidenced by the remains found of a fence made of large regular blocks, 4 kilometers long, which encloses an area of just over 100 hectares. Muro Messapica was one of the most flourishing and important cities of the time.
With the rise of Rome it was conquered and completely destroyed by the troops of the Roman army in the 3rd century BC and again several other times subsequently by the Saracens.
In 1156 the Norman Guglielmo Bosco became the first prince of Muro; later Tancredi supported its reconstruction by entrusting the fief to Captain Alessandro Gothi. The town then gradually passed to the De’ Monti family, marquises of Corigliano d’Otranto, to the Protonobilissimo family, who were princes of Muro until 1774, and to the Pignatelli family of Belmonte, who kept it until the abolition of feudalism in 1806.
Of notable interest, in addition to the archaeological sites from the Messapian era, are the Mother Church, dedicated to the Madonna Annunziata, built between 1680 and 1693, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, dating back to 1778, the Convent of the Dominican Fathers, built during the sixteenth century and dedicated to the Holy Spirit, and the Chapel of the Crucifix, built in 1573.
Among the civil architectures, the Palazzo del Principe stands out, built in the second half of the fifteenth century, which is accessed by crossing a suggestive underbridge with a buried moat. Inside is the Museo di Borgo Terra, which offers visitors the opportunity to appreciate documents and works of art that tell the story of Muro Leccese.
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