The historical centre of Parabita is famous for the Castriota Castle, built in the XVI century on the rests of an ancient fortress. First it was used for defensive purposes and then it was restored and turned into a noble residence decorated with pretty particular ornaments. Other interesting noble residences are De Ramis Palace, built in the XV century, Muia and Vinci Palaces dating  to the XVI century, and Ardito Palace, that was built  in the XVII century. The most important and ancient religious monument is the Mother Church, dedicated to St. John Baptist. It was built in the  XIII century and it has been restored a lot of times so far. The façade has a beautiful portal and in this church with nave and two aisles there are some elegant altars and valuable paintings representing holy images. In 1855 the body of St. Vincent and some of his blood were taken to this church during a solemn celebration. The Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Coltura was erected in 1913 on a XIV century building after a prodigious event. A farmer, while he was at work in the fields,  found a very big stone on which there was the image of the Holy Virgin Mary with the Child. He  called the other inhabitants of the town and  they carried the stone to the church. The following day some faithful devotees went to the church to pray and they noticed that the stone had disappeared. They found it in the place where the farmer had seen it the first time, so they realised the Madonna wanted a church to be built there. The imposing Gothic monument has an elegant portal and a stately bell tower. Inside there are four elegant altars, some interesting frescoes and paintings. Outside the urban centre you can visit three Basilian crypts where the Basilian monks used to celebrate the Mass. Unfortunately there are just some rests of the ancient frescos. The protectress of Parabita is the Madonna della Coltura,  that is celebrated on the last Sunday of May.

The nickname of the inhabitants of Parabita is "ventri janchi" meaning white bellies". This expression is used to mean people who are very stubborn and stupid  like the asses, whose belly is white. This nickname was invented by the inhabitants of the near villages  but we do not know the reasons. However, the population of Parabita advocate  that their nickname is closely connected to  a typical Italian cheese, the ricotta, that is usually eaten during the patronal feast and that is white.