The Salento is a hot, dry peninsula at the southern tip of Puglia. Its geographical isolation has meant that it has developed a strong identity with its own cuisine, traditions and music, influenced by its Greek past. Along with some of Italy’s best beaches there are some fascinating towns to explore.
• Gallipolli’s old town is on a island connected by a causeway to the mainland. It has a relaxed, elegant vibe, some stunning churches, and a golden curve of sand right in the centre of town, plus many more along the surrounding coast. It was ruled by the Greeks for five centuries between 7th and 2nd century BC, but all signs of their existence were destroyed by the Romans and most of the architecture seen now is from the Middle Ages.
Other than leisurely walks along the city’s seafront walls, the most interesting thing to do in Gallipolli is visit Frantoio Ipogeo in Granafei Palace one of the 35 underground olive presses. It was first used in 1600, excavated by hand out of the soft rock, to make olive oil for lamps which was exported around the world. You can see the original equipment used for grinding and pressing the olives and get a sense of what it was like to work in this dark, damp cave. Blindfolded donkeys were used to work the olive mill and they lived down here with the workers who smoked weeds and carved little sculptures to distract themselves from the miserable conditions. Salento is the most beautiful part of Apulia, the hottest, the most sparkling and with the same old reality the Italian coastal scenery has to show the whole world.
• Ugento – The magnificent Caribbean beaches of Ugento with clear sea and shallow waters.
• Porto Cesareo – The popular seaside resort has an amazing 17 kilometers of golden beach facing an archipelago of low-lying islands that form a protected bay. The water is calm and clear. Porto Cesareo is also the home of a nature preserve that is a marine protected area rich in flora and fauna with very rare species. Underwater excursions allow for viewing of the unique coral formations, turtles, sea horses, and other marine life.
• Lecce, the Baroque city known as the Florence of the South. with its historical Baroque abodes awaiting to be discovered, its piazzas, old villages and hamlets. Its culinary specialities, pasticciotti (sweet pies filled with custard), rustici (savory pastries filled with mozzarella cheese and tomato), turcineddi (rolled meat similar to haggis) ciceri e tria (chickpeas with pieces of fried fresh pasta). The taranta (a local folk dance and festival) and the other marvellous and fascinating nights, reminders of a wise but simple rural culture, and marvellous popular beliefs. All of this by its very nature excites and warms the heart like a cheerful friendship, and by adding the quality and the care taken in the welcoming of tourists in recent years it has made this area, which is steeped in history and understanding one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.
• Santa Maria Leuca, the town between two seas – Santa Maria di Leuca is the point of the peninsula’s stiletto heel. The Greeks called it Leukos, meaning brilliant sun, while the Romans called it “the place at the end of the earth”. Situated in the prime part of the Salento, Leuca is a paradise on a promontory between two seas.
• Castro – Situated on a hill overhanging the sea and is referred to as the “pearl of the Salento. The setting with turquoise skies, green hills, white washed buildings and sapphire water is captivating.
• The caves of Zinzulusa – A majestic opening in a sheer sea cliff near Castro welcomes you to the Zinzulusa Cave, one of Salento’s most impressive karstic phenomena.
• Otranto has a stunning coastal location where you can combine morning visits to churches with an afternoon swimming in the clean, impossibly turquoise sea. It’s just 72 km from Albania and its location has resulted in many invasions, the worst of which was the Turkish siege in 1480 when they destroyed much of the city and tortured and killed its people. Otranto’s principal attraction is the Cathedral with its mosaic floor built in 1163-1165— it survived the Turkish invasion although parts of the Cathedral were destroyed. It’s one of the largest mosaics in Europe and covers the entire floor. Its central motif is the Tree of Life, supported at the base by elephants, a symbol of purity, with branches telling different pagan and biblical stories. Another tree near the front of the church depicts heaven on one side and grizzly scenes from hell on the other. In the chapel you can see the human remains of the 800 martyrs who resisted the Turkish invasion and refused to convert to Islam. The empty sockets of hundreds of skulls stare down at you in stark contrast to the beauty of the mosaic floor.
• Ostuni, La Città Bianca, the white city, is one of Puglia’s most beautiful cities, a tumble of white-washed buildings perched strategically atop a hill with views of the endless olive trees in the Valle d’Itria countryside, and the glimmering Adriatic Sea. The medieval walled city was built without a plan, and it shows. The web of streets is confusing, a maze of alleyways, staircases and arches. Buildings were built on top of each other, and the archways support the houses they connect, making up for the lack of strong foundations. You turn one way and find a dead end, another and get a glimpse of the sapphire sea. Puglia has seen a stream of invaders—Greeks, Romans, Goths, Byzantines, Normans—and the labyrinth of Ostuni is the perfect way to confuse the enemy. The stark white buildings are dazzling in the southern sun and are brightened by vivid green and blue wooden doors, pots of red geraniums and cacti. In the 17th century a plague killed millions in the area and infected houses were painted white by mixing limestone dust with water. Locals noticed that there was less illness around the white houses and attributed it to a miracle; most likely it was the antibacterial effect of the calcium carbonate. Nowadays the white houses attract tourists and the local government encourages everyone to repaint every two years by paying for half the cost.The main street in Ostuni is lined with boutiques and souvenir shops selling local olive oil and Salentino sandals, but the best way to experience the town is by diving down the narrow side streets and like the invaders once did, getting lost.
At Ostuni’s highest point you’ll find the Cathedral, built in the 15th century in the late Gothic style, rare in Puglia where most of the churches are austere Romanesque or ornate Baroque. Its graceful lines lead to the sky and there’s a magnificent rose window with Christ at the centre surrounded by 24 finely carved columns representing the hours of the day. Visite on a Saturday, Ostuni’s market day. It’s very much a local place—most tourists don’t make it here on the edge of town—and is foodie heaven. Browse the stalls of bulbous round cucumbers, fresh almonds in brine, dried figs, piles of walnuts, aromatic bunches of oregano, twin balls of caciocavallo cheese dangling from string, trays of snails, entire octopus, and mounds of vibrant red chiles, sweet and spicy, round, bell-shaped and long.
