What is Martano known for?

Capital of the Grecìa Salentina, the nine-commune area where the Byzantine-era Greek dialect Griko still survives among older speakers. Standing stone of 4.70 meters, the tallest menhir in Puglia, on the agricultural edge of the town. Twenty-meter drystone megalithic mound, the largest specchia in Salento, known in Griko as Segla tu Demoniu.

Martano is a comune in the province of Lecce, Apulia region of Italy, about 132 kilometers from Taranto.

Apulia · Lecce

Martano

The biggest town in the Grecìa Salentina, twenty kilometers south of Lecce, where the Griko language still survives among older residents.

132 km / 82 mi

Nearest hub (Taranto)

8,583

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi Autentici

Why come

Martano sits at ninety-one meters twenty kilometers south of Lecce and eighteen kilometers from Otranto. It is the largest of the nine communes of the Grecìa Salentina, the area where some residents still speak Griko, a Greek dialect inherited from five centuries of Byzantine rule. The town fell under Greek administration after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, was part of the County of Lecce from around 1000, then was granted as a fief by King Tancredi to Giorgio Remanno in 1190. The prehistoric record is older and more visible: the Specchia dei Mori, a drystone megalithic mound twenty meters across and six meters high, is the most monumental specchia in Salento, and the Menhir del Teofilo at 4.70 meters is the tallest standing stone in the region. The Chiesa Matrice, dedicated to the Assumption, anchors the centro storico and hosts the August 15 patronal festival. Olive oil and tobacco built the modern economy.

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Gallery

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Known for

Specchia dei Mori
Drystone megalithic mound twenty meters across and six meters high, the largest specchia in Salento, also called Segla tu Demoniu in Griko.
Menhir del Teofilo
Standing stone 4.70 meters tall and 48 by 33 centimeters wide, the tallest menhir in Puglia, on the outskirts of the town.
Chiesa Matrice dell'Assunzione
Parish church dedicated to the Assumption, August 15 patronal festival, anchor of the centro storico.
Centro storico
Stone old town at ninety-one meters with bilingual Italian-Griko signage in places, the cultural capital of the Grecìa Salentina.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September through October are the months the Salento inland stays mild. May brings the wild thyme into the trattorie and the early olive flush. July and August push past thirty-five degrees on the limestone plain; the centro storico empties between two and five and the patronal festa on August 15 still pulls a crowd despite the heat. The autumn olive harvest is the agricultural anchor and runs into November. November through March is quiet and cool, with shorter trattoria hours and Griko language classes that the cultural associations run through the winter.