Via Domenico Rondachi

The Rondachi were a powerful Otrantine patrician family of Greek origin, counted among the most illustrious by the historian Luigi Maggiulli. In the 16th century, the family owned several fiefs around Otranto, including those of Casamassella (Berardino Rondachi was Baron of Casamassella in the mid-16th century), Castiglione (with the title of barony), Giurdignano (Giovampaolo Rondachi was Baron of Giurdignano in the same period), Cocumola, Serrano, Castrignano, and part of the area surrounding the Alimini lakes.

On the street bearing their name stood their palace, which was unfortunately demolished during the second half of the 19th century because it was considered unsafe. Documents that have come to light reveal that certain details of the palace were particularly refined and noteworthy, such as the balcony adorned with a balustrade that was saved and can now be admired inside the rectangular hall of the Aragonese Castle. In a letter dated 1893 to the historian Luigi Maggiulli, Baron Bacile wrote: “Unfortunately, the house of the Rondachi family, of great importance for the history of art, no longer exists, because, threatening collapse, it had to be demolished. (…) The precious balustrade of that house was preserved for the admiration of experts and of all those interested in matters of art. (…) Today there is no tourist or art lover who, when visiting Otranto, does not go to admire the balustrade of the Rondachi house.”

The balustrade featured, on its front side, seven slabs carved with busts, each enclosed within a laurel wreath, and two lateral slabs bearing coats of arms: one attributable to the family of Domenico Rondachi, the other apparently the result of a combination of that coat of arms with that of Rondachi’s wife, which is still difficult to identify.

The carved slabs date back to the 16th century.