The Foggiari underground oil mill

The underground oil mill in Via Foggiari is located in the heart of Maglie’s old town, beneath a picturesque closed square, a unique architectural feature in Salento. It is a modest-size structure, some of whose architectural features confer it an urban appearance, so much as to make it indistinguishable from a typical courtyard  once crawling with people thanks to the presence of the underground oil mill, operating day and night.

Between 1876 and 1880, at a time when Maglie belonged to the territory of Otranto and the area of Gallipoli, there were a total of 21 oil mills. The hypogeum, located in Maglie’s old town, can be dated from the end of the 16th century to the first half of the 17th century, and was a production site of lamp oil.