Contr’Ofanto
The Ofantino Derivation, also known as “Contr’Ofanto”, is a canal built in the first halft of the Nineteenth century to drain the floodwaters of the Ofanto and, at the same time, thanks to the sediments of these, to contribute to the reclamation of the marshes of the area and the salt pans that Charles III of Bourbon decided in those same years to reorganize as a modern production structure. In the Twentieth century, a “new” canal was created for the Trinitapoli fill tanks.
In the place where the derivation originates from the Ofanto, the old locks and the house once intended for the guardian are still visible. Proceeding towards the sea, you will encounter important historical testimonies such as the masserie L’Olivolla in the Paolo Stimolo locality (dialectization of the Latin name Paulus Tumulus, or the place where the soldiers of the Roman consul Paolo may have been buried after the defeat of Canne) and Borgo Santa Chiara.