What is Campi Salentina known for?

Coat of arms is a sheaf of wheat; the Salento plain around the town has been the granary of the Terra d'Otranto since the medieval period. Built by Frederick II in 1220 as a summer residence, later turned into a Paladini-Enriquez marquisate seat by Philip II of Spain in 1627. Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera vineyards on the surrounding plain, part of the wider Salice Salentino DOC production area.

When is the best time to visit Campi Salentina?

May–Sep. May through September are the months the Salento plain is dry, mild and walkable. June through August reach the mid-thirties and the inland villages empty between two and five in the afternoon; Lecce and the Adriatic coast pull the day-trippers. April and October are the steadier months, the wine and olive work either starting or finishing, the light still soft. November through March is cool and wet on the plain; the centro storico stays open but the trattorie shorten hours. The patronal feast of the Madonna delle Grazie in early July runs the village for a week.

Where is Campi Salentina?

Campi Salentina is a comune in the province of Lecce, Apulia region of Italy, about 71 kilometers from Taranto.

How do I get to Campi Salentina?

From Taranto, Campi Salentina is roughly 71 km by road.

Apulia · Lecce

Campi Salentina

A Salento plain town fifteen kilometers north of Lecce, founded after the Saracen raids of 926, with a Frederician castle that became a Paladini-Enriquez marquisate.

Known for

GRANARY OF OTRANTO
Coat of arms is a sheaf of wheat; the Salento plain around the town has been the granary of the Terra d'Otranto since the medieval period.
FREDERICIAN CASTLE
Built by Frederick II in 1220 as a summer residence, later turned into a Paladini-Enriquez marquisate seat by Philip II of Spain in 1627.
SALICE SALENTINO
Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera vineyards on the surrounding plain, part of the wider Salice Salentino DOC production area.

When to visit

Best · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

The festa: Oronzo di Lecce, 1 September

Why come

Campi Salentina sits on the Salento plain at forty-seven meters, fifteen kilometers north of Lecce. Menhirs around the territory point to Bronze Age occupation, but the town as such dates to 926, when Saracen raids destroyed the nearby villages of Afra, Bagnara, Firmignano, Ainoli and Terenzano and pushed survivors together at the current site. The Normans came in the eleventh century; Tancred of Altavilla donated Campi to the Bishop of Lecce, then Frederick II built a castle here in 1220 and used it as a summer residence.

In 1522 the Paladini family bought the fief, and after Maria Paladini married Giovanni Enriquez, Philip II of Spain elevated Campi to a marquisate in 1627. The town earned the title of città by presidential decree in 1998. The coat of arms is a sheaf of wheat: locals call Campi the granary of the Terra d'Otranto, and the surrounding plain is olive groves and vines.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Campi Salentina’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

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What to see

Castello dei Paladini-Enriquez
Frederician castle of 1220, used as a summer residence by Frederick II, later transformed by the Paladini and Enriquez families into a marquisate palace.
Chiesa Matrice di Santa Maria delle Grazie
Sixteenth-century mother church in the centro storico, rebuilt over the medieval foundations of the original village church.
Centro storico
Walled Salento old town around the castle and the chiesa matrice, with stone palazzi from the Paladini and Enriquez period.
Menhir di Campi Salentina
Bronze Age standing stones around the territory, evidence of pre-Roman occupation in the wider Salento megalithic landscape.

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Living here

Population 9,777
Commuter belti
Pharmacy in town
High school within a 30-minute drive
Train station in the comune
Nearest airport Bari / Brindisi, 2 h 10 min drive
Regional capital Bari, 1 h 58 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

Borghi Autentici

The numbers

Elevation: 47 m
Population: 9,777
Surface area: 45.88 km²

On the map

Google Maps Apple Maps Directions from Taranto

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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