Discover the city

Carovigno

Carbina: the Messapian settlement

Carovigno's origins go back at least to the 12th century BC, when the Messapian settlement of Carbina arose — from the Greek "Karpine", meaning "fruitful". Its remains can still be seen in the double circuit of walls and the acropolis, along with a large necropolis. In 473 BC the city was conquered by the Tarentines and reduced to a subordinate port: a local coin bears the legend "CARB-BRUN", attesting its close pairing with Brundisium. In the Second Punic War it shared Taranto's fate, while the wealth of archaeological material recovered across its territory continues to document the Messapian civilisation of northern Salento.

Middle Ages, castle and urban fortifications

In the early Middle Ages, Carovigno passed under the rule of Byzantines, Lombards, Normans, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese and Venetians, who consolidated its defensive system. The Dentice di Frasso Castle, built between the 12th and 15th centuries on the highest point of the town, preserves three towers — a square one, a circular one and an "almond-shaped" one — together with the Sant'Anna chapel; an underground passage once linked the castle to its gardens. The old Rione Terra was guarded by four towers — the Torretta del Civile with its sundial, the Torre Giranda, the Torre delli Brandi and the Torre del Prete — and by two city gates, Porta Brindisi and Porta Ostuni, complemented by smaller accesses such as the Arco del Prete. Just outside town, the Sanctuary of Maria SS. di Belvedere houses a ciborium dated 1501 signed by Giovanni Lombardo of Ostuni and late-Byzantine frescoes.

The managed cultural sites

In Carovigno the Associazione Le Colonne manages the Castle and Municipal Library "Salvatore Morelli", named after the Risorgimento patriot from Carovigno. The complex, in the heart of the old town, combines medieval fortified architecture with its role as a cultural hub for the area.