THE LAND

The sea, the sun and the wonderful coasts of Salento
Welcome to Salento, where East meets West, in a land rich in history and traditions, where the beauties of nature and architecture and the warm hospitality of its inhabitants are some of its best features. The main attraction along the Salento coastline is unquestionably the clean, clear and crystal sea, which affords the tourists an enchanting scenery. The Salento peninsula is a large plain of karstic origin; its small hills slope gently towards the sea, forming the beautiful beaches and sandy shores,high cliffs that originated from geographical fractures , inlets, the sea cliffs, gullies, small ravines, islands and islets and caves that embroider the coast of fantastic lace rock. Furthermore, particular contribution is given to this beautiful scenery from the sea bed, irregular surfaces with grooves, caves and holes that make it a favourite destination for scuba divers. These natural features are particularly picturesque;the same flora and fauna of certain areas, the landscape around the towns, allow us to define the small Salento peninsula as a place of quiet and original holidays, for many travelers a real find!

The coastline
The coastline of theSalento can be divided in three areas, each of them with its own distinctive characteristics. Wishing to plan a route to visit these three areas you should start from Casalabate (in the north-east) and go down to “Punta Palascia” (Otranto); this first part is washed by the Adriatic Sea. The second part, that is known in Salento as “Canaled’Otranto”, is  between Otranto and “Punta Ristola” (S.M. di Leuca), where the Adriatic Sea mixes with the Ionian Sea. Finally, to visit the third area you should start from Santa Maria di Leuca and  go up along the coast lapped by the Ionian Sea to “Punta Prosciutto“, the last strip of land to the north-west of the Salento.

Everything is an invitation for endless discoveries
– The archaeological sites spread throughout the Salento;
– The typical buildings of the past (pajare, trulli) made of “tufo” stone, that are often characterized by impressive arches;
– The intimacy with which villages, castles, towers and steeples are present in the landscape like a chain;
– The richness of the patrician houses and of the baroque and Roman churches;
– The carvings of the portals, the eighteenth-century altars, the carved and gilt pulpits;
– The stucco-works, the goldsmiths art, the wrought iron, the medieval and baroque paintings.

The nature of Salento is gently undulating , sweet and melancholy to the eye for the colours of its wheat, its vines scorched by the sun and its stone. There are a few isolated houses that open up suddenly between the  fields or under the windows of the houses ,a deep empty cave. This flat land is  surrounded and enclosed  by precipitous cliffs , a coast leading on to a few beaches which wind and twist to the extreme promontory of Leuca. The sea, a deep sea,sheer,an indigo coloured sea , wild in its beauty… There remains nothing but relax in so much beauty!