Until 1873 the village was called Villapicciotti; then its ancient name, Alezio, which is Messapian, was given back to it. In between there is a gap: around the year one thousand the Saracens destroyed the town and its people took refuge on the island of Gallipoli. The place stayed deserted until some Basilian monks built the church of Santa Maria della Lizza there, and a hamlet grew again around it.
The Messapian necropolis of Monte d'Elia has been dug since the nineteen-eighties. There are pits cut in the rock, monolithic sarcophagi squared off with a raised step at the bottom, like a stone pillow, and chests of slabs joined with interlocking teeth. What is missing are the chamber tombs, which in the rest of Messapia are common. Inside, inscriptions in Messapian written in the Greek alphabet: only the name of the dead.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
Near Alezio
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Places to see within 25 km
Outside Alezio, but an easy day trip away.