The civic coat of arms of Alessano consists of three hills with a red winged cross on the hill in the middle. We do not know exactly when and how the village was founded and several hypothesis were advanced. According to Cesare Rao, the name of the village would derive from the words “ale sane”, the wings of Daedalus who built the famous maze of Crete. Some scholars supposed it was founded by the Byzantine Emperor Alessio I Comneno (1048-1118) and for this reason one of the streets of the historic centre is named after him. Other scholars think that the founders were the soldiers who came back from Alesia in Gallia, or people coming from the river “Ales” in Calabria, or a group a soldiers guided by Pirro when they arrived in the Salento to fight the Romans with Taranto. The most probable hypothesis is that the name of the village comes from the Greek “alexo” which means “to fortify and to protect”. In the Norman time the name of the village was “Castrum Leucadense” which means “the fortress in the Cape of Leuca”. It was considered as the head town of this area because there were big and strong walls to protect the town and it even became Bishop See. A historic document of the 12^th century tells us that there was a Bishop in Alessano but in 1818 this was included in the diocese of Ugento. The village was included in the County of Lecce and then in the Principality of Taranto. In the 13^th century it was bought by Rodolfo D’Alneto and the last heir of this family, Caterina, was given the title of Princess by the King Robert. She married to Diego della Ratta whose family ruled for a century but their last heir was accused of betrayal. The village was then bought by Raimondello Orsini del Balzo, whose son married to Margherita, a cousin of the Queen Isabella Del Balzo. This relationship allowed the Del Balzos to live as princes. The last heir of this family married to Ferrante di Capua, prince of Molfetta. The village was then ruled by Ferrante Gonzaga, the Braydas, the Guarinis, by Filiberto d’Ayerbo d’Aragona, by Luisa Riario Sforza and by Antonio Zunica. Among the famous people of Alessano we remember: Don Tonino was born in 1935 and became priest in 1957. He took his degree in Theology in Rome then became Rector of the Seminary of Ugento. In 1982 he was chosen as Bishop of Giovinazzo , Terlizzi and Molfetta. He founded a drug rehabilitation centre in Ruvo and died in 1993. The population of Alessano loved him because he was always ready to help those in need. The square of the Mother Church is named after him. Aniello Letizia was born in the 17th century, he was an appreciated painter and worked also in the Sanctuary of Leuca. Padre Bonaventura lived in the same century and was a Capuchin and a missionary. He died in 1651 in Angola during a Mission of the Capuchin Fathers. Oronzo Gabriele Costa was born in 1789 and was a great naturalist. In 1810 he took his degree in Medicine in the University of Salerno. In 1836 he taught Zoology in the University of Naples and wrote several books. Gustavo Ruggero Urro was born in 1894 and was considered one of the biggest painters of the Salento. He died in 1958. Placido Buffelli was born in 1635 and was a sculptor. His statues can be admired in several churches of the Salento, for instance in the Church of St Matteo in Lecce there are the statue of the twelve Apostles. Francesco Storella was born in 1525, he was an appreciated philosopher and taught in the University of  Palermo and of Naples. He wrote several books and died in 1575.