Casino della Mura
Cent. 19th
In the 18th century, when the Puglia countryside was beginning to shake off its image of a wild and unwelcoming place, something changed in the aristocratic way of life. The more influential families began to leave the town to spend the summer in their new country residences: i casini. In these homes, the families combined work and leisure, contemplation and power, nature and politics. This new way of life was followed in Palo del Colle too. One of the most attractive of these homes is Casino della Mura, surrounded by the silence of ancient olive groves. Its elegant structure with its monumental entrance and curved windows was the emblem of prestige of an illustrious family. Michele Della Mura was born in 1812 in Terlizzi and was the owner of this residence.
A cultured man, he was passionate about Dante and Leopardi but would also write with great irony when local politics demanded it. He was mayor of Palo del Colle and lived between his town house in Piazza Santa Croce and the quiet of this country residence where he would reflect, read and perhaps dream of a free and united Italy. In the heart of the building is an altar, showing the need for spirituality even in the countryside. The damp underground rooms would have been used for storing wine, oil and grain. The date 1816 is carved on the stones of the round entrance arch. Today, Casino Della Mura is abandoned and left prey to theft and vandalism. But within those cracked walls and the neglected gardens it is almost as if you can still hear the steps of Don Michele.
