The name of the city, in greek "Kalé Polis" means beautiful city and so it is. The pearl of the Ionian Coast, has a strange and beautiful orientation.

The ancient part of the city is connected by the rest of the city by a bridge. The town of Gallipoli is divided in two parts, the modern and the old city. The new town includes all the newest buildings including a skyscraper. The old town, instead, is located on a limestone island, linked to the mainland by a bridge built in the 16th century.

Probably the town was constructed by the messapic people, after that was under the Roman domination, then  under the oriental dominators which transformed the city and forced the city to become a greek colonization, not respecting the cultural and habits of the local people.

The bizantin domination lasted for 517 years, after that the town was completely distructed. After that, was rebuilt during the first period of the XIII century but not for long. The period of great development was during the spaniol domination that lasted until 1860. That was the time when the churches and the barrocue monuments flourished beautifully. In 1860, the town was connected to the Kindom of Italy.

On the island of the old city there is a mediaval castle. In the XVI century was built the fortress of Rivellino, by a project construction of Francesco Giorgio Martini. The old part Gallipoli city has many churches and antique castles. Among all these beautiful and ancient constructions, we have to mention Basilica di Sant'Agata and  its fantastic barocoque leccese style.

In the past times the economy of Gallipoli was based on the international wine and oil commerce. Nowadays its most important activities are based on fishing and tourism.

How to arrive in Gallipoli

By car: You must take the highway to Bari,follwer the road to Brindisi- Lecce. Once arrived in Lecce you must follow the indications to Gallipoli. (S.S. 101)
By train: You should take the train for stazione FFSS di Lecce , after that take another train of Ferrovie Sud Est or Salento in Treno e in Bus or using one of the services of STP Lecce.
By plane: The closest airport to Gallipoli is Brindisi airport (for further information on the planes/airports visit: Aeroporti di Puglia) from where you can reach Lecce by bus.

USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS

Sede Comunale - Via Pavia, 1 - telefono Municipio 0833/275511 - 276209
Polizia Municipale - telefono 083...
Guardia Medica - telefono 083...
Ospedale "Sacro Cuore di Gesù" - telefono 083...
Comando Carabinieri - telefono 083...
Guardia di Finanza - telefono 0833/266118
Vigili del Fuoco - telefono 0833/202222
Capitaneria di Porto - telefono 0833/266862
Corpo Forestale - telefono 0833/266292
Stazione Ferroviaria - telefono 0833/266214
WEBSITE del comune: www.comune.gallipoli.le.it