Marittima is a hamlet of the Diso

Diso

Diso is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. It is an ancient city, having existed since the early 11th century, and features several churches, buildings and squares....

 municipality in the province of Lecce

Province of Lecce

The Province of Lecce is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecce. Totally included in the Salento peninsula, it is the second most populous province in Apulia and the twenty-first most populous in Italy....

.

Located in the lowest part of Salento

Salento

Salento is the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the main Italian Peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot"...

 between Castro, Andrano

Andrano

Andrano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy....

 and Diso, Marittima is about 48 km from Lecce. The part of the country overlooking the coast is named Marina di Marittima

Marina di Marittima

Marina di Marittima is a seaside resort on the Adriatic coast of Salento in the comune of Diso in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It takes its name from the frazione that is located in the hinterland: Marittima....

Toponymy

According to popular opinion, the name of the town is due to its proximity to the sea. In fact, the coast is only a kilometre from the town. It has also been claimed that the name is related to the founders of the area, who arrived by sea and would have been called marittimi; so Marittima indicates the place where they lived.

History

There is no definite information on the origins of the town although it is assumed that Marittima was founded or inhabited by the Messapi and that it suffered the same fate as its neighbours, Vaste, Diso

Diso

Diso is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. It is an ancient city, having existed since the early 11th century, and features several churches, buildings and squares....

 and Castro, which were overtaken first by the Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 and then by the Byzantines

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

, the Normans

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 and Angevins.

The first written document confirming the presence of the settlement dates back to 1277; the Angevin registers from one year inform us of a certain "Rubeo de Soliaco" who was named "Lord of Casale Marittima".
In the feudal period, Marittima was part of Castro County which was under the control of various noble families including the Orsini Del Balzo, Gattinara, Ruiz De Castro and the Lopez De Zunica families. This control lasted until 1809 when the Rossi family became the owners of Marittima.

In the feudal middle ages, the daily life of the area's farmers and fishermen was shaken up when, on the 28th July 1537, the Turks (who were allies of the French against the Spanish governor of the Kingdom of Naples) seized Castro and destroyed several towns, including Marittima.

Some years later, in 1573 when Marittima had only a hundred inhabitants, the town was ransacked again, this time by Saracen

Saracen

Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...

 pirates (as were many neighbouring areas.) Attacks by pirates occurred frequently until the early 19th century. In order to defend Salento

Salento

Salento is the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the main Italian Peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot"...

, a system of watchtowers was built around Marittima. Between the end of 400AD and the start of 500AD a large tower - known as Torre Lupo (Wolf Tower) - was erected and still stands. Several turrets were also built in the inhabited centre.

Marittima was an independent municipality until 1809.

Mother-Church

The Mother-Church is dedicated to the Protector Saint Vitale. It was rebuilt several times: once in the 16th Century after the devastation by the Turkish

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 and then in the 18th Century due to the structure's dilapidation. The current structure dates back to early 1900.

It has a simple facade with a central doorway which is flanked by two niches. The interior is of a neoclassical style with three arched aisles containing numerous paintings. The most important of which , Saint Vitale on Horseback, is on the high altar. In the central vault there is a stunning elliptical dome on which is painted the glory of the Trinity

Trinity

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...

 and the family of Saint Vitale.

Shrine of Our Lady of Costantinople

The Shrine of Our Lady of Constantinople, built in 1610, has preserved its architectural lines despite adjustments made over the centuries.

This shrine is linked to an ancient tradition. An image of Our Lady of Constantinople on Lecce stone, now dominates the high altar on an artistic canopy.

The walls of the single nave, once adorned with numerous paintings, are now home to only those of Saint Francis of Assisi and Immacolata

Immacolata

Immacolata aka the Incantatrix aka The Witch is a fictional character, created by Clive Barker and featured in his 1987 epic fantasy novel Weaveworld. One of the main villains in the book, she is an immensely powerful witch, her main goal being the destruction of the race she comes from, the...

. Of notable interest are the baroque portal, the high altar containing the oval icon of the Virgin and the altar of the Crucifix

Crucifix

A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....

 dated 1691. There is also a small lead pipe organ which dates back to the 18th Century.

Convent of Conventual Fathers

The Convent of Conventual Fathers was constructed between 1615 and 1619. This is known because, in 1614, it was not yet listed among the monasteries which existed at the time in Apulia

Apulia

Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...

. However, in 1621, a certain Catrini was buried there.

The task of the convent's religious community was to guard the Shrine of Our Lady of Constantinople and to run a small hospital. The convent was suppressed for the first time in 1652 as a result of the Bolla Instaurandae of Pope Innocenzo X and was reactivated in 1654. 1795 marked the definitive end of the convent. Over the years it was owned by different families; the premises were even used as a tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

 processing factory.

City Towers

The City Towers were built by the Marittima University or by private citizen to defend the small town against attacks by Turkish pirates above all after the destruction of Otranto

Otranto

Otranto is a town and comune in the province of Lecce , in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses.It is located on the east coast of the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto, to which the city gives its name, connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and Italy with Albania...

 (1480) and Castro (1537 and 1573).

Originally there were five but today only four towers remain: Torre di Alfonso (Alfonso Tower), Torre Baltassara (Baltassara Tower), Torre della Piazza (Piazza Tower) - the only one which is still inhabited- and Torre di Paolino Russi (Paolino Russi Tower.)

Torre di Alfonso (Alfonso Towers)

The largest and the most artistically beautiful, Torre di Alfonso (named after the owner) is located in the heart of the old town, in Via Cellini. It has a square base and was refined by adding a ledge and a balcony which adorn the upper face.

Colonna Osanna (Hosanna Column)

The Hosanna Column, so-called because it was used during the feast of the Ascension, was erected in 1620 and was originally situated in the middle of the main square. It was dismantled in 1926 and rebuilt in 1961 near the Shrine of Our Lady of Constantinople. It is made from local stone and is topped by a cross.

Other monuments

• Palazzo Baronale Miglietta (The Baronial Palace of Miglietta) (1745)
• Palazzi e ville signorili (houses and lordly palaces) (700AD - 800AD- 900AD)
• Torri Colombaie (Dovecot Tower) (1600)
• Frantoio Ipogeo (Underground oil mill)