Baronial Palace, Monteroni

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The Baronial Palace in Monteroni di Lecce, Puglia, southern Italy, is one of the largest baronial palaces in the province of Lecce. It was originally a "castrum" (Latin for fortress), built by the feudal lords Montoroni. In the 16th century it was significantly enlarged, while in the following century it was transformed into the current aristocratic residence.

The palace is built in two floors, the upper floor being the aristocratic residence ("piano nobile"). The façade is 17 metres tall and 75 metres long. In the palazzo's ballroom is kept a Roman epigraph discovered in 1795 and dating back to Emperor Hadrian's times (117138 AD), which is of archaeological importance since it locates to Lecce (and more precisely to the ancient Rudiae) the home-town of Quintus Ennius, considered the father of Roman poetry.

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