was the period in which a lot of rural fortified Masserie were built or made stronger through new means of defense. In the Sixteenth Century, in the Terra d' Otranto a lot of defensive buildings were built (such as coastal towers, Masseria-towers, castles and tower houses), were built which gave shape to an impressive defensive system, but it was not enough to keep the people safe from the Turks. In a climate of such insecurity and increasing interest of the nobility for the countryside, the rural habitat suffered profound transformations: in this period the majority of Masserie were equipped with towers, for sighting and defense reasons.
2. Masseria Cippano
Fig. 1- Masseria Cippano. 2.1. Historical and geographic context Masseria Cippano is part of the defensive system built along the Adriatic and Ionic Salento coast by Carlo V, king of the Reign of Naples (XIII-XIX Cen.). It is located in the South of Otranto1 and it can be seen from the coastal road that goes from Otranto to Santa Maria di Leuca, that runs for more than 57 Km next to the natural reserve Parco di Otranto e Santa Maria di Leuca e Bosco di Tricase2. Masseria Cippano (or Ceppano) is a summary of almost five centuries of Salento’s history. It contains many architectural layers, each of them displaying the social transformations to which it had to adapt during the centuries. For example, the conquest of Otranto by the Turks, in 1480, and the complete destruction of the villages of Castro and Marittima in 1537 terrorized not only the populations of the coastal towns, but also those people living in the countryside. The presence of so many fortified Masserie along the Adriatic and Ionian coast was the consequence of the insecurity felt by those people who lived in the countryside from the XV to the XIX century. The Sixteenth Century
Fig. 2- Geographic overview (Re-worked version of the Regional technical map). 2.1. Historical Evolution Phases Masseria Cippano was built on one of the less rich and fertile land of eastern Salento, mostly characterized by rocks. For this reason, it is a testimony to an agricultural economy based especially on pastoralism. This Masseria stands on a little upland without any visual obstacles: from the top of
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