The White Alleys Of The Medieval Village Of Ceglie Messapica. Lecce Puglia, Italy Editorial Photo

The Messapian and medieval historic center of Ceglie Messapica (the Messapian Kailia) is dominated by the Ducal Castle of Norman-Swabian-Aragonese style that, like a sentinel, watches over Ceglie. The Romans called it Caelia because it is on the last hilly foothills of the Murge, where the Itria Valley flows gently into the Salento plain. A walk through the alleys of the historic center immerses you in an ancient and surreal atmosphere that ranges from the time of the Messapians to the medieval era. Today the Messapian-medieval historic center is dominated by the fifteenth-century ducal castle, notable for the crenellated square tower symbol of the city. Opposite is the Collegiate Church, not far away is the Baroque church of San Domenico of the Bernini school. The central Piazza Plebiscito, with its characteristic clock tower, closes the medieval historic center and opens to the nineteenth-century one. The Messapian hill-acropolis was accessed via a steep staircase, still existing although modified in the medieval era, 'the hundred staircases'.