In the Pliocene era, the present day Salento peninsula had not yet formed and the Supersano Serra was a strip of rocky land about 2 km wide emerging from the sea in an archipelago of islands, together with today's Serre of Ostuni, Ruffano, Specchia, Tricase, Montesardo and those of Racale and Ugento in the west.

In the Pliocene, the Adriatic Sea washed therefore, the coast of the present Serra of Supersano; in fact, are still visible signs of marine erosion on the Serra ridge in the northern part  of the town.

No one knows for sure when man appeared in this area, but after the withdrawal of the sea, at the foot of the Serra, some tectonic episodes have occurred that favored the karst and then formed caves that bear traces of human presence.

Several materials proving the presence of man in prehistoric times were found, beginning with the Paleolithic and reaches the Metal Age.

To the Bronze Age are relate the two menhir still existing while in the Classical Age there were some villages consisting of oval-shaped huts. 

We can talk about the presence of some Archaic settlements ( VI-V century B.C.), since in the Scorpo area were found the remains of a hut or a housing structure very simple, quadrangular shaped with plaster and traces of hearths. A very late Hellenistic site, attributable to the IV and III century B.C, is located near the Masseria La Falconiera. Black glazed pottery and fragments of ointment were found as well.

Another rural settlement between the Hellenistic age and the Late Imperial is the site of Specchia-Torricella in which some black painted and gray paste materials have emerged (Hellenistic and Late Republican). Fragments referring to an Aretina (from Arezzo ) ceramic plate are dated back to the Augustan Age (I century BC - I century AD).

The Basilian settlement around the crypt of Our Lady of Coelimanna and the archaeological finds in the swamp of Sombrino, dried up in 1858, belong to the historical period of the Byzantine domination. Here the remains of the Church of Santa Maria di Sombrino and the medieval tombs testify the presence of the ancient hamlet of the same name inhabited since prehistoric times and abandoned in the XVI century.

The earliest records of human settlement are dated back to 1195, when the manor of Supersano belonged to the Principality of Taranto.

In 1240, Frederick II passed the feud to his son Manfredi Lancia, who was defeated and killed by Charles I of Anjou in the Battle of Benevento in 1266. With the conquest of the Kingdom of Sicily on behalf of the Angioini in 1272, Supersano passes to Philip Montefuscoli then merged again in the Principality of Taranto, and finally sold to Del Balzo family which will rule on it up to the year 1507.

In 1480 it was ravaged by the Turks so the Manor house was destroyed and the population decimated. The feud remains to the Royal Court until year 1538, the year in which it was sold to Alfonso Castriota who is purchasing it on behalf of his grandson Pyrrhus.

Afterwards Supersano was under the rule of the D'Aragona, Carafa and, since 1765, of Gallon of Tricase who were the last feudal lords (1806).

The name derives from the Latin super sanum (meaning= more than healthy) and indicates the healthy climate and air due to the unspoiled terrain on which stretched the vast Bosco (wood)Belvedere.

The Latin expression could also be referred to the wisdom and common sense of the locals. In the ancient documented is listed under the name of Supleczani or Supplessano and could be of predial source, deriving from the Latin name of person Sulpicius.

The Coat of Arms

In 1971 Supersano requested and received a new coat of arms. The new one depicting the Bosco Belvedere, replaced the old one that used to have an oak tree as symbol, instead. A large part of the inhabitants of Supersano still do not know anything abojut this change. The forest of Belvedere, on many occasions, has been a source of wealth for the men who lived near Supersano, especially its acorns were useful and used.

The old coat of arms instead represented an oak tree demolished at the beginning of the last century and survived for at least ten centuries. It was so large that it could accommodate up to 4 people inside the cavity formed in its trunk.

[www.comunedisupersano.gov.it]