Travel Guide Copertino

After Lecce, Copertino is an exquisite stop on the way to Gallipoli. A former stronghold of various foreign families, including the Enghien family, the town has one of the best preserved fortresses in the Salento. It is also home to two religious buildings of great interest: the Basilica Madonna della Neve, the mother church, founded in 1088 by the Norman Count Goffredo di Conversano but remodeled in the 18th century, flanked by a 35-meter high bell tower, and the 18th century church of San Giuseppe da Copertino, dedicated to the patron saint of the city, a Franciscan monk born in 1603 in Copertino and famous for the stories of his spectacular levitations.