The civic coat of arms of Calimera has a sun with sixteen long beams on a blue background. We do not know exactly when the village was founded. It could have been founded by some Crete colonists, but we suppose it was founded by the Greeks after the destruction of an old hamlet called Centopozzi. The name of the village comes from the Greek and means ‘Good morning’. When the Normans came, the King Tancredi included the village in the County of Lecce then it belonged to the Principality of Taranto with the Orsini del Balzos. It was then ruled by the Hugots, the Gesualdos, the Sorianos and the Bucalis. This family was very cruel and they were sent away by a violent rebellion of the population. It was then ruled by the Del Montes, the Tranis and the Gadaletas. Among the famous people of Calimera we remember: Donato Tommasi was born in 1761, he took his degree in law and became a famous lawyer. He was chosen as Ministry of Justice in 1815. He died when he was seventy. Alessio Colaci was an appreciated judge of the 19th century. Giannino Aprile was born in 1918, he became mayor and wrote a book on his village. Pasquale Tommasi was born in 1712 he became a brilliant physician and a literary man. He wrote several books and died in 1787. Vito Domenico Palumbo was a literary man, poet and philologist. He could speak several languages, was fond of the Greek culture and wrote several books. Giuseppe Gabrieli was born in 1872 and taught Arab in the University of Rome. Vito Domenico Fazzi was a famous lawyer of the 19th century. The Licci brothers (Girolamo, Giuseppe Saverio and Paolo) became four brilliant lawyers in the 19th century. Brizio De Sanctis was born in 1863 and taught Literature and Philosophy, he was also headmaster and wrote several books. Sigismondo De Matteis lived between the 16th and the 17th centuries and was the last priest to celebrate with the Greek rite. Pietro Licci was a priest specialized in Theology and Philosophy.