Monteroni di Lecce

Monteroni di Lecce
—  Comune  —
Città di Monteroni di Lecce
Coat of arms
Monteroni di Lecce Location of Monteroni di Lecce in Italy
Coordinates: 40°20′N 18°06′E / 40.333°N 18.1°E / 40.333; 18.1
Country	Italy
Region	Puglia
Province	Lecce (LE)
Government
– Mayor	Pasquale Giorgio Guido
Area
– Total	16 km2 (6.2 sq mi)
Elevation	35 m (115 ft)
Population (November 2008)
– Total	13,895
– Density	868.4/km2 (2,249.2/sq mi)
Demonym	Monteronesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
– Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	73047
Dialing code	0832
Patron saint	St. Anthony of Padua
Saint day	First Sunday in August
Website	Official website

Monteroni di Lecce is a town and comune in the province of Lecce, Apulia, southern Italy town with ca. 13,600 inhabitants. It is located at 7 km from Lecce, in the area called Salento (reported until recently also as Terra d'Otranto).

History

Probably the name Monteroni comes from Latin Mons Tyronum, meaning "mount of the spear-men" and hinting its origin as a training camp for the Roman legions. In fact originally the Romans apparently established a military stronghold on the hill nowadays called San Filii. From this era of romanisation of the region, coins and other archaeological material has been found and studied.

During the Norman period, the fiefdom of Monteroni was part of the County of Lecce. In 1250 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (and also sovereign of the Kingdom of Sicily) granted the fiefdom to the De Cremona family, followed in this feudal office by the Montoroni family who held it until the 16th century. The Montoroni built the first Baronial Palace in the town in the original shape of a small fortress.

When the fief passed onto the Duke of Spongano, the Baronial Palace was enlarged and gained the current Leccese Baroque style. Monteroni di Lecce owes the baroque period also its bell tower and the two chapels which were located in the central square (currently “Piazza I. Falconieri”) on the site currently occupied by the major church “Chiesa Matrice”.

Feudalism in the south of Italy was abolished with the events following the French Revolution when also the Kingdom of Naples became a republic and then a Napoleonic kingdom. Since then it was the “Municipality of Monteroni di Lecce” which took over and carried on the sorts of the fief of Monteroni.

Main sights

• Baronial Palace.
• Chiesa Matrice (mother church).
• Town Hall (17th century)
• The villas and mansions that the region’s aristocratic families build in the countryside around of Monteroni di Lecce since the 15th century (this exploit of aristocratic country-houses actually took place throughout the whole area of Valle della Cupa on the south-west of Lecce). These include: Villa Romano (the biggest of Monteroni’s aristocratic estates), Villa Carelli-Palombi, Villa de Giorgi, Villa Urselli, Villa Bruni, Villa Saetta.

More contemporary architecture include:

• Velodromo degli Ulivi, the cycling course where the World Cycling Championship took place in 1976
• the “Ecotekne” campus of the University of Lecce.

Culture

Monteroni di Lecce's status is that of a university town due to the presence of academic institutions and state-of-the-art university facilities.

Twin towns

• Lengnau, Switzerland

External links

• Official website (Italian)