What is Copertino known for?

Renaissance castle of 1540 by Evangelista Menga, four corner bastions and ninety cannon embrasures, one of the largest in Puglia. Saint Joseph of Copertino, born here 17 June 1603, canonised 1767, patron of aviators, astronauts and students for his ecstatic levitations. Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera red wines from the surrounding Salento plain, the Copertino DOC denomination since 1976.

Copertino is a comune in the province of Lecce, Apulia region of Italy, about 82 kilometers from Taranto.

Apulia · Lecce

Copertino

A Salento town fifteen kilometers west of Lecce, with one of Puglia's largest Renaissance fortresses and the birthplace of Saint Joseph of Copertino.

82 km / 51 mi

Nearest hub (Taranto)

23,033

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi Autentici

Why come

Copertino sitson the Salento plain fifteen kilometers west of Lecce. The Castello di Copertino is the town's defining building: a quadrangular Renaissance fortress with four corner bastions, redesigned in 1540 by Evangelista Menga, Charles V's fortifications expert, for Alfonso Castriota, around an earlier Norman-Angevin keep. It carried ninety embrasures to take cannon fire and remains one of the largest fortresses in Apulia. The town is otherwise known for Saint Joseph of Copertino, born here on 17 June 1603 as Giuseppe Maria Desa, the Franciscan friar whose recorded levitations during ecstatic prayer earned him the nickname the flying friar; he was canonised by Pope Clement XIII in 1767 and is the patron saint of aviators, astronauts and students. The Basilica di Santa Maria ad Nives in the centro storico, dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows, preserves objects and shrines connected to his life. Copertino lies in the heart of the Salice Salentino and Copertino DOC wine zones.

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Gallery

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Known for

Castello di Copertino
Renaissance fortress redesigned in 1540 by Evangelista Menga around a Norman-Angevin keep, quadrangular plan with four bastions and ninety cannon embrasures.
Basilica di Santa Maria ad Nives
Mother church of the centro storico, dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows, preserves shrines and testimonies of Saint Joseph of Copertino's life and miracles.
Santuario di San Giuseppe da Copertino
Sanctuary on the site of the saint's birthplace, with the room where he was born preserved as a chapel, a pilgrimage point on his September feast.
Monastero di Santa Chiara
Clarissan monastery in the centro storico, founded in the early seventeenth century, with a baroque church and inner cloister.
Centro storico
Walled old town with surviving city gates, the basilica, the monastery and the bulk of the castle ramparts framing the central squares.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September through October are the Salento months: mild light, low humidity, the wine harvest opening in September. July and August reach the high thirties and the Salento plain offers no shade between noon and four; the castle bastions photograph well in late afternoon when the limestone goes orange. The feast of San Giuseppe da Copertino on 18 September is the year's civic peak and packs the basilica and the saint's sanctuary. November through March is mild but quiet, several centro storico services run shorter hours, and the castle is best seen out of season when the courtyards are empty.