The name of this small fraction of Ruffano, Torrepaduli, originates from two elements: the three towers, or the only tower as some argue, that made up the ancient fortress, and the surrounding swamp.

The towers, defense structure and shelter for the peasants scattered around the countryside in times of pirate raids, remain, however, in the memory, since there is no trace of them remains, the marsh or padula because Torrepaduli extends into the valley, twenty-five feet below Ruffano, from which it is less than a kilometer.

Historians place his historical moment between three and four hundred and bind this place Enghein Maria, daughter of the Count of Lecce, Giovanni. She inherits the county at the death of his brother Pietro (1384) and, as a result of her marriage to the Prince of Taranto, gives to the Franciscan friars of S. Caterina in Galatina the entire feud. The subsequent historical events seen passing the same fief in the hands of different beneficiaries or purchasers, barons and princes, along the several centuries until the late nineteenth century.

However, even if the shade of Ruffano as a fraction, Torrepaduli always keeps its own identity, developing habits and customs characteristic. Even today, traditions and culture in Torrepaduli are combined with the creative vitality of its people that has absorbed the wonderful treasury of successive civilizations on its territory, the greek-Byzantine and Latin-Spanish, leading them to unexpected syntheses of authentic Mediterranean history.

To the legacy of civilization greek-byzantine recalling the passion for dance and the sound of the tambourine. "La danza delle Spade" (The Wword Dance) or mime dance during the feast of San Rocco, on 15 and 16 August, is one of the few cases still present in Europe and attracts thousands of tourists and pilgrims, and is, even today, the subject of analysis by scholars popular traditions. Torrepaduli, however, is not just history and popular traditions: it is able to offer the visitor peace and spiritual refreshment at the Shrine of St. Roch, the artistic beauty of its churches in the manner Leccese, and why not, craft production of the place, made up of manufactured goods and agricultural products.

Even today, during the traditional fair of San Rocco, you can buy the traditional range with the effigy of the saint, the zagareddhe (colored ribbons) with which to adorn the bicycles, motorbikes and curls of children, carried on the shoulders of parents in throng the fair, copeta (a type of nougat good) and eat consuming the piece (pieces of meat prepared with tasty sauces), and then return home carrying his handkerchief past the statue of the Saint as a sign of blessing.