Discover Sternatia

Sternatia is a village in Grecìa Salentina. When planning your trip, the town offers several ways to explore its history: a walking route through the historic center, traces of olive oil production, religious buildings, and rural dry-stone architecture. If you’re looking for a hotel in Sternatia, these themes can help you choose a location that suits your interests.

Walking route through the historic center

The walking route follows the former line of the walls. It runs from Porta Filìa via Via G. Matteotti, Via E. Perrone, Piazza Umberto I, Via Brigida Ancora, and Piazza Dante Alighieri back to Porta Filìa, then continues along Via Roma. Beneath the route, a network of tunnels and galleries connects former underground olive mills.

Between Via Giudeca and Piazza Castello, buildings preserve remains of Sternatia’s Byzantine castle. Porta Filìa and the adjacent section of wall are also among the last surviving remains of the former fortifications. The name Filìa means “love,” “peace,” and “friendship” in Greek. The gate is associated with important rites of passage in residents’ lives, as well as local tradition and social life.

The historic houses preserve a characteristically Greek courtyard layout. Daily life for several families once revolved around these courtyards. The architecture therefore tells not only the story of individual buildings, but also how communal life was once organized in the town center.

Churches, crypts, and palazzo architecture

The Cripta San Sebastiano was hewn between the 9th and 11th centuries AD and is located near Via Neviera. Its layout includes an open corridor and an entrance with several steps. Inside, a central pillar and two aisles divide the space; surviving sacred frescoes depict Saint Sebastian, the Annunciation, and Saint Francis. The crypt is considered the first in Apulia dedicated to Saint Sebastian.

Another underground site is the Cripta San Pietro, a small grotto carved out of tuff. It consists of two rooms; the second contains an altar with a fresco of Saint Peter. The grotto may have served as a church of the Greek rite. This possible function differs from the visible architectural details that describe the space today.

Palazzo Granafei was built in the 1740s as a Baroque Salentine baronial residence over an earlier Byzantine castle. The palazzo still has a hanging garden, known in the 19th century as Giardino dei Fiori. The upper floors are decorated with Rococo frescoes depicting mythological scenes and heavenly deities. As this is a private residence with limited visitor access, you should not assume a visit will be possible.

The Chiesa Matrice SS. Assunta also adds to the picture of religious architecture: its interior features frescoes by Garganese and six side altars. Four Rococo altars by architect Emanuele Orfano stand in the transept. Comparing these interiors with the rock-hewn crypts offers different perspectives on Sternatia’s sacred architecture.

Olive oil, festival traditions, and rural architecture

Olive oil production was one of the most widespread activities in Sternatia. Thirteen oil mills, including underground and semi-underground facilities, were spread throughout the area, both within and outside the walls. Together with the network of tunnels beneath the historic center, they reveal the importance of oil production to the town’s history.

For many decades, on the first Thursday after Easter, residents have made a procession to the Chiesa Madonna degli Angeli. The celebration includes religious events, sports competitions, and the traditional game of “cuccagna.” It also features “cuddhura”: a ring-shaped biscuit baked in an oven, with a hard-boiled egg in the middle. If you’re planning to attend, check the dates and current program in advance.

Outside the town center, numerous dry-stone walls shape the rural landscape. They were built from stones cleared from the fields. Traditional dry-stone structures include the “furni,” which farmers used as temporary shelters or as shelters for daytime use only. The walls, courtyards, and underground structures show the different ways in which the surroundings and local work found architectural expression.

Discover more destinations: Carpignano Salentino, Ugento, Seclì, San Pietro In Lama, Salice Salentino, Morciano Di Leuca, Aradeo, Leuca

For the main travel overview: Lecce.