The name has two readings, and they are opposites. The first comes from the Turks: the village is close to the sea and raids were frequent, and in the death registers the Latin adverb turce was used to mean a killing done Turkish-fashion, with scimitars; the municipal coat of arms, in fact, shows a Turk chained to a tower. The second comes from the press: the underground oil mills were many, and the man who worked them was the turchiarolo.
The two readings, in the end, describe the same land: three quarters of the territory is olive groves. Out in the fields stand the ruins of Valesio, a city first Messapian and then Roman, with its baths: it was razed in 1157 by William the Bad, who had come down to Apulia to punish the rebel barons, and its refugees came to swell Torchiarolo.
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Near Torchiarolo
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Places to see within 25 km
Outside Torchiarolo, but an easy day trip away.