Gallipoli (population 21.000) the Kallipolis of the Greeks and the Anxa of Pliny, by its modern borgo on the mainland, is located on the west side of the Ionian sea. The old city, was the last of the Salentine Terre to capitulate to the Normans (1071). Beyond the bridge is the castle, where 34 rebel barons held out for seven months against Charles of Anjou in the 13C. The castle is fronted by the keyhole-shaped annexe built in 1522 to plans by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, who visited the fortification in 1491-92. The original Byzantine fortress has been incorporated into the polygonal bastion at the south-east corner.
The Baroque cathedral (1630), is adorned with many paintings by local artists, including a Madonna and St Orontius by Giovanni Antonio Coppola, the artist's last work. In the nearby bishop's palace are an Assunta By Francesco De Mura and other paintings.
The Museo Civico houses a collection divided into ten sections, encompassing antiquities, natural history, weapons and clothing, historical and ethnographic relics and curiosities, and prints and paintings of the city (via De Pace 108; open Mon-Sat, 09.00-13.00, 16.00-19.00; Tel. +39 0833/264224).
The Baroque church of San Francesco contains wooden carvings of the Two Thieves by Vespasiano Genuino, an outstanding achievement of the realistic school of local sculpture. The church of the Purità has a richly stuccoed interior and many paintings; the floor is paved with 18C majolica tiles depicting baskets of flowers and fruit.