The historical center of Galatina is characterized by the strong contrast between the major building forms (churches and palaces) and the architecture of domestic and rural buildings. The first belonged to noble families, professionals, landowners and merchants, the second belonged to a poorer class that lived in often precarious conditions. These buildings, due to their layout and organization, have given rise to housing systems of high historical and social value: the courtyard houses.
Peasant families, in fact, spontaneously, to share fears and moods, almost for a sense of protection, self-defense and self-sufficiency, leaned behind the scenes of the main streets, in alleys, where, while remaining in contact with the public space of the street it was possible to lead a simple and discreet life in the intimacy of one's family and counting on the help of the neighborhood.
The court houses in Galatina are presented in the widest range of solutions: single-family or multi-family courts, single courts or grouped in Czech alleys, almost all characterized by socializing spaces, open spaces almost always preceded by a driveway covered by a barrel vault represents the link between the public of the street and the private court. The characteristic elements of the courtyard houses are the presence of the laundry stack and the cistern for collecting rainwater, in many other cases also the masonry staircase that leads to the terrace of the driveway compartment where the sun is usually left to dry in the sun. figs or tomatoes, but from where, above all, it is possible to look out onto the street with discretion and participate in public life.
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