Corte Manfredi

Alessano is a characteristic village in southern Salento. There are no certain documents on its origins but it is certain that, after its birth, it was the Normans who assigned Alessano a prominent role over the entire Capo di Leuca. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Alessano lived its season of maximum splendor. Under the rule of important noble families (the Della Ratta, Del Balzo, De Capua and Gonzaga) the city became an important commercial center, also attracting families of rich Venetian merchants and a small Jewish community. The town was enriched with valuable Renaissance-style buildings that can still be admired today.

The ancient core of the town still has narrow alleys, important Mignani, portals with stone profiles, richly carved balconies and windows, interspersed with small churches. The picture of the splendid historic center of Alessano is completed by the typical courtyard houses, humble houses of the past gathered around a common area with a water well and a stone washhouse (pile) for washing clothes. The court represented the fulcrum, safety and sociability of the slow life of that time.

Corte Manfredi also fits into this context, an ancient alley that takes its name from the descendants of Don Anselmo Manfredi, Canon of the Cathedral of Alessano in 1500 and founder of one of the most illustrious families in the country, who have lived in this court over the years. In the alley, two flying arches are still visible, architectural elements used in the past to contain the bulging of the houses, giving them a unique and particular aspect in the historic center. An ancient mosaic floor and the presence of friezes and bas-reliefs on the walls and windows confirm the importance of the families who once lived there.

However, like a good part of the historic center, Corte Manfredi also went against a process of progressive abandonment and decay by the inhabitants. The lively life of the court, therefore, has been replaced by the silence of abandonment and brushwood. Until 2019 Corte Manfredi was completely abandoned to decay.

The idea of the renovation of this particular house in the center of Alessano takes on a dual significance. These are cultural assets that must be recovered not only as they are destined for future use (as an accommodation facility), but above all, in the intentions of the owners, they are destined to become a memory of the past. Therefore in October 2019 an important conservative restoration begins. The work to be done was a lot and complex. But the combination of expert local workers and the guidance of young emerging architects has allowed the structural and architectural recovery of Corte Manfredi. During the renovation no changes were made in the structure. Everything that could be recovered (mosaics, friezes etc.) has been appropriately preserved. Ancient wall niches today contain local decorative elements or perform practical functions. The current lighting involves the use of modern light bodies perfectly integrated with the historicity of the structure, expertly designed to ensure lights and shadows that can enhance the peculiarity of the environment. Several antique pieces of furniture, restored exclusively by local artisans, heat the rooms, reviving the atmosphere of about a century ago.

Definitely, at the end of the complex restoration, a mixture of antique and design allowed Corte Manfredi to be a place full of life, just like many years ago.

The houses that once characterized Corte Manfredi, have now been transformed into rooms, each with its own services and peculiarities, and retain their ancient numbering. Today Corte Manfredi is a unique accommodation facility of its kind, ready to welcome its guests, with the design and comforts that distinguish it but without losing sight of the deepest, most intimate and hidden purpose, respecting history and reviving, even with little things, the past of this corner of Alessano.