Martina Franca

Martina Franca was found in the X century when refugee form the Saracen devastation of Taranto built a village on Monte S. Martino, a high lying slope of the Murgia hills. It is a town famous above all for its Baroque buildings like Plazzo Panelli, Blasi and Motolese, all enhanced by loggias decorated in wrought iron.

Of particular interest the Collegiate of S. Martino with a beautiful façade and a portal decorated by a high-relief sculpture on St. Martin and the poor. The interior houses some rich and multi-coloured marble altars.

The church of S. Domenico, built in 1760, is adorned by a rich Baroque façade and contains the lovely "Madonna of the Rosary". Other interesting churches include S. Antonio, a XVI century Gothic building with a Baroque structure; the XV century S. Vito dei Greci, with a rusticated façade; the Del Carmine topped off by a cupola and the church of St. Francis of Assisi.

In the triangular piazza Roma stands the Ducal Palace, built by Petraccone V Caracciolo in 1669 on the site of an ancient castle constructed in 1338. The palazzo houses the Town Council and the Town Library.