Porto Cesareo
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, who 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, towards 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, little by little, 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 Caesarea 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 become populated, 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 fully reclaimed, beginning to take on importance 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 an equipped tourist settlement that enjoys over 17km of fine beaches and a protected marine area.