Travel Guide Galatone

Galatone is a town of Greek-Byzantine origin, and retained its rite and language until the 14th century. Later, it was the home of the humanist Antonio de Ferraris (1444-1517), known as the Galateo. The historic centre is accessed through the classical Porta San Sebastiano, dominated by the statue of the city's patron saint, St. Sebastian. Galatone is endowed with important baroque buildings that one is surprised to discover at the turn of a street. This is the case of the Sanctuary of the Crocifisso della Pietà, with a monumental façade divided into three registers and with a lot of ornamentation; Giuseppe Zimbalo, the master of the baroque in Lecce, participated in its construction. Opposite it is a 15th-century palace with a keep.