Gagliano del Capo

According to tradition, the toponym of Gagliano del Capo derives from the Latin name of person “Gallius” or “Gaius”, a Roman centurion who owned this land after the Roman conquest of Salento .

The presence of man in the area of ​​Gagliano del Capo can be dated back to the Bronze Age , as evidenced by the two menhirs present in Arigliano .

The urban center of Gagliano was subsequently founded by the Romans , approximately two centuries before Christ.

From 553 and up to the 11th century the country entered the Byzantine sphere of influence; the oriental religious rite spread and was preserved until the 17th century. In 877 welcomed the survivors of the city of Vereto escaped the destructive fury of the Saracens .

In the Angevin period it belonged to the Brunellas; subsequently to King Ferrante, to King Ferdinand the Catholic, to the Castriota Scanderberg family, to the cadet branch of the Dukes of Poggiardo who maintained possession until 1806, the date of abolition of feudalism.

Gagliano over the centuries it suffered the aggression of Saracens and barbarians several times, despite its defense system being consistent and well laid out, with the coastal towers of Montilongo and Novaglie . In fact, during the 1500s the Algerian pirate Dragut landed in Salve and invaded Gagliano, plundering and plundering.

The inhabited center rises to 144 m as  land lies in the valley delimited by its heights called “Monte Tumasi” and “Monticelli”. The municipal territory extends to the coast and includes the hamlets of Arigliano and San Dana and the locality Ciolo characterized by a high rocky inlet and the amenity of some sea caves of considerable historical, artistic and landscape interest.

The Ciolo gully is a deep gorge produced by the erosive action of water on its way to the sea.