The name comes from the specchie, the cone-shaped heaps of stone the Messapians raised to watch far off and to mark boundaries. Until 1873 the village was called Specchia de' Preti, because it belonged for the most part to priests, regular and secular; in the Middle Ages it was also found as the Specchia of the almond trees.
In 1435 the condottiere Giacomo Caldora stormed the stronghold and destroyed it. In 1976, digging in the garden beside the church of San Nicola, common graves came to light with skeletons of great stature: perhaps the warriors of that siege. In 1452 the king gave leave to repopulate Specchia, and soon after the village filled with people fleeing the coast when the Turks took Otranto.
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📅 Every year, on 6 December, close to the solstice: the sun strikes the altar low and to the south
Specchia celebrates Saint Nicholas of Bari on 6 December, a date close to the solstice: the sun rises very low and strikes the altar only when almost due south, confirming the church's ancient orientation. The feast is renewed on the second Sunday of May.
📅 Every year, on the second Sunday of May, with Feast and Fair
Specchia renews the feast of Saint Nicholas of Bari with the Festa e Fiera on the second Sunday of May. 2 February brings the Fiera della Candelora, and from 8 to 10 September the feast of the Madonna del Passo.
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The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Specchia, but an easy day trip away.
