The feudal estate of Monteroni has been part of the County of Lecce since the beginning of the 12th century, founded by the Normans during the 11th century. The Counts of Lecce assigned the feudal estate of Monteroni to various trusted feudal lords. The first were the De Cremona family, who received the hamlet directly from Frederick II of Swabia around 1250. After several changes of feudal lords, the Monteroni hamlet was definitively assigned to the Monteroni family in 1291, and from then on, the hamlet became an integral part of the County of Lecce.

In 1353, the hamlet was again assigned to an outsider from the Monteroni family, Guglielmo de Matteis; but only for fifteen years. From then on, the hamlet remained with the Monteronis until the early 1500s. The Monteroni family was responsible for the construction of the current Baronial Palace, "castrum," a small fortress that ensured the defense of the lords of the hamlet.

During the 1500s and thereafter, the feudal estate of Monteroni belonged to the Gattinara family, then to the Counts de Castro, and finally to the Lopez y Royo family. The latter transformed the fortress into a noble palace, giving it greater shine and prestige. The Lopez y Royo family also had the Clock Tower, two altars, and the chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament built in the Mother Church.

The period in question, the 6th and 7th centuries, was particularly difficult from an economic, social, and political perspective; it reflected material, civil, and cultural backwardness. However, this did not undermine the feudal system with its privileges and the inequalities it involved. The limited cultivable land in Monteroni and the vast land ownership of the ecclesiastics determined and perpetuated a situation of constant impoverishment of the working population. Despite Monteroni producing fine wine and large quantities of oil, in the end, the resources were scarce to meet the needs of the hamlet's inhabitants.

In 1806, feudalism was overturned, and a profound reform of the universities began. The municipality immediately saw an increase in its economic and social development. Some documents still preserved at the State Archive of Naples demonstrate that in the early decades of the 1800s, the administrative activity of the Municipality of Monteroni was remarkable.

By the early 1900s, Monteroni was the seat of the Pretura, hosted the carabinieri station, had a finance barracks, was part of the Electoral Political College of Campi Salentina, and was finally the capital of the judicial district that included Carmiano, Magliano, Arnesano, and San Pietro in Lama.

Fortunately, the two world wars did not cause damage to the town of Monteroni; however, there was a Monteroni contribution: casualties in both the first and second conflicts.

Monteroni still preserves an intact historical heritage of considerable magnitude: courtyards, villas, small houses, the Mother Church, public and private chapels, the 16th-century Baronial Palace, and the Clock Tower. It hosts the "Velodromo degli ulivi", the first functional facility in Southern Italy, where the world track cycling championships were held in 1976.

By: http://www.salentoviaggi.it/comuni-lecce/comune-monteroni-di-lecce.htm