The civic coat of arms of Carpignano Salentino has a big pine tree on a blue background with the capital letters C and P , probably the initials of Camillo Personè. In this village there are two menhirs called “Grassi ” and “Staurotomea” where people used to worship their gods in the ancient times. Other archaeological findings of the Byzantine period are now in the “Sigismondo Castromediano” Museum in Lecce. We do not know exactly when and how the village was founded but we can advance two hypothesis: it was probably founded by some Greek colonists because they were impressed by the fertility of this territory. The name of the village would come from the Greek word “KAPIIO’S” which means ‘fruit’ and refers to the abundance of fruit trees. The second hypothesis says that the village was founded by the roman centurion Carpinio who won the village for his courage on the battleground, he built then a house for himself and his soldiers. When the Normans came, the King Tancredi gave the village to Anastasio Maresgallo. Carpignano was also ruled by other families such as the Personès and the Ghezzis. The village was also sacked several times by the barbarian invaders who come from the sea. Among the famous people of Carpignano we remember: Lelio Vincenti lived in the 17th century and was a famous philosopher and physician. Michele Grezzi lived between the 19th and the 20th century , he was a good monk, he spent his life praying and helping the people in need. He died when he was 80. Dideco Personè belonged to the Personès, a rich family of the village, was a good military and musician. Temistocle De Vitis  lived in the 19th century, he studied in the Istituto delle belle Arti In Lecce and became an important painter. His first exhibition was in Lecce. He also lived in Paris where he improved his style. Vincenzo Chironi was born in 1847 and was a famous physician. He taught in the University of Naples, Padua and Messina. He wrote several books and died at 61.