centro storico, collinare, difensivo, Martina Franca, Franca Martina (denominazione storica, 1310), Martina (denominazione storica, fino al 1861)

The old heart of Martina Franca is a tight, near-circular maze, its perimeter traced by a broad boulevard that follows the line of vanished defences. This is no accidental jumble; the architecture is remarkably uniform, a distinctly sober and elegant strain of Baroque, the ‘barocco martinese’, more restrained than the florid exuberance one finds further south in Salento. The core survived the 18th century intact, and its streets are lined with palaces and houses distinguished by projecting balconies and deep loggias stacked in one or two storeys, a local peculiarity. Among the civic buildings of the 17th and 18th centuries are the Ducal Palace, the Palace of the Court, and the Clock Tower; religious landmarks include the churches of the Madonna del Carmine and San Domenico, and the 18th-century collegiate church of San Martino. The first certain mention of a settlement here is a notarial act of 1260 citing a locum castri Martine, a fortified place.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.