Ipogeo di Torre Pinta

It represents an example of a dovecote, built on an earlier settlement, perhaps Christian, given its regular Latin cross plan. The three short arms of the cross face west, east, and south, while the dark, 33-meter-long gallery, corresponding to the long arm of the cross, faces north.

All the niches and the wide, low-ceilinged corridor feature deep incisions made by doves' claws. A closer look reveals several details that directly relate to Messapian culture: an oven used for cremation or sacrifices, hundreds of cavities used as cinerary urns, and a stone seat placed along the walls, used by these people, according to their custom, to lay the deceased seated.

The Messapian origin of this structure is currently the most accepted hypothesis. The discovery of this hypogeum, which occurred in August 1976, is attributed to Milanese architect Antonio Susini, who confirmed with certainty that the numerous existing cells housed pigeons, bred by the owners of the nearby farmhouse. The site's strategic location supports the hypothesis that they were carrier pigeons, in the service of the Bourbon military command garrisoned in Terra d'Otranto. "We had found a vase, a coin, an engraving," Susini stated. "But nothing. An incredible fact, even more so considering that the hundreds of niches carved in overlapping rows along all the walls and in the vault must have held just as many cinerary urns."

If you take a moment to study all its details, you'll certainly notice that the original burial niches extend all the way to the vault. Other, more recent ones open up next. The tower itself dates back to the Middle Ages, but has undergone subsequent renovations. This part is certainly the least ancient and is characterized by Saracen-inspired eastern spires, on which Turkish balls were once placed. The site is privately owned, within the Polimeno agritourism farm.

Visit the website https://www.torrepinta.it/