Copertino castle was extended on a previous Angionian fortress and completed in 1540, thanks to Emperor Charles V's architect Evangelista Menga.
The castle represents one of the most impressive defensive structures in Salento, but it is also characterised by its splendid decorations on the door and in St. Mark's Chapel, frescoed by Gianserio Strafella, the Mannerist painter from Copertino.