Porto Cesareo
The origins of Porto Cesareo date back to ancient times as it was already known as Portus Sasinae, founded by the inhabitants of the island of Saseno near Valona. They occupied the territory already in the fifth century BC and were a proud people of fishermen and traders. Then it was the turn of the Messapi. This people of Illyrian or Aegean-Anatolian origin arrived in Salento at the threshold of the Iron Age, around the 11th century BC and settled in the provinces of Lecce and in particular near the “Scalo di Furno”.
The presence of the Messapi is testified by four stone pillars, religious symbols, near which offerings were made to the divinity. On the other hand, several monolithic columns found in the sea date back to the Roman period. After a period of vital trade, Portus Sasinae fell into total abandonment and decay, also due to pirate raids and attacks from nearby Gallipoli, which saw it as a rival in fishing traffics and who wanted to take over its port.
The exact date of the destruction is not known, probably around 200-300 AD. A few centuries later, around the year 1000, monks of the Basilian order built an abbey which remained for five hundred years and which allowed the center to be reborn. It was recognized and called Cesaria, by the Greeks and, slowly, the small nucleus expanded thanks to the commercial port from which oil and grain passed both for Sicily and for the Maritime Republics. In that phase the “” Torre Cesarea ”was also built. From this moment on, the small port, which until now belonged to the Orsini del Balzo, princes of Taranto, passed to the Acquaviva, dukes of Nardò. Until the end of 1700 the Port of Cesarea fell into neglect both for malaria and for the continuous pirate invasions. At the beginning of the 19th century the small urban center began to develop and was destined to grow and populate, until the end of the century, when by now there were a few hundred inhabitants and the beautiful church was built in honor of Santa Maria de Cesarea.
In the twentieth century the agricultural hinterland and the surrounding area (called Terra d’Arneo) was completely reclaimed, beginning to take on relevance not only as a small port but also as a seaside resort. Today Porto Cesareo has an important fish market and above all it is a well-equipped tourist settlement that enjoys over 17km of fine beaches and a protected marine area.
