The Borgo of Ugento, popularly known as “U Burgu” and officially listed as “Borgo Terra*”, is a district that took shape in the Middle Ages. It lies at the foot of the Norman Castle, later the residence of the Marquises d’Amore.

Most of the buildings that make up the Borgo today date back to the 19th century, as does the paving of its narrow alleys. Yet traces of ancient balustrades and Mignano-style* balconies still remain, as well as remnants of themed frescoes inside a number of private homes. These are the last witnesses of the 12—perhaps even 18—chapels that once lined the Borgo’s main street, Via Salentina. This road is what survives of the more famous Via Traiano Sallentina, the Roman route that connected Ugento and the rest of southern Salento with Brindisi and Rome. From the 5th century AD up until the 18th century, it served as a passageway for pilgrims travelling to the Basilica of Santa Maria di Leuca.

* Blue Flags are an international award given by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) to coastal towns and tourist marinas that meet high standards of environmental quality and sustainable management.

Courtyard Houses and Artistic Treasures

Until the 1960s, the Borgo was home to the majority of Ugento’s population. Its streets and alleys bustled with artisan workshops, taverns and case a corte, the traditional courtyard houses typical of Salento, many of which can still be admired today.

Along Via Salentina and Via della Luce stand two significant artistic landmarks: the sanctuary of Saints Cosmas and Damian, whose cult is deeply rooted in local tradition; and the church of San Lorenzo, which preserves a fine late-18th-century painting by Marciano, a painter from nearby Ruffano.

In the lower part of Ugento’s old Borgo—known as the scanni, scise, or pile—rises the Church of the Madonna delle Grazie with its attached late-16th-century convent, built by monks of the Order of Saint Benedict of the Celestines*.