Salento – A Peaceful Land of Italy

Most of the tourists often overlook Italy’s sun-baked heel, home to hidden grottoes, medieval fortresses, and the beautiful beaches of two seas. With roots stretching back to ancient Greece, the Salento modestly bears the laurels of centuries of history. Its art and architecture are some of the best preserved in Italy, its vistas pristine, and its scuba diving superb. Transportation within the peninsula can sometimes be complicated, but a sojourn along the varied coastline or inland among olive groves and vineyards is well worth the careful planning.

Where is Salento

Salento is located in the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. Salento peninsula is a rock of limestone dividing the Adriatic Sea from the Ionian Sea. Known also as “peninsula salentina”, from a geo-morphologic point of view it encompasses the land borders between Ionian sea and the Adriatic sea to the “Messapic threshold”, a depression that runs along the Taranto-Ostuni line and separates it from the Murge.

Places to see in Salento

Salento is a peaceful land full of history and traditions whose strong points are its natural and architectural beauties, hospitality, atmosphere, and of course sea and its coast.

melendugno1

melendugno

A number of places, the coasts above all, are remarkable landscapes and environments, among them the Alimini Lakes, on the Adriatic coast, and Porto Selvaggio, on the Ionic coast.

Otranto

otranto-costa

The soil is very fertile. Some of the finest olive trees and grapes grow here, and their products are exported worldwide.

Salento’s coasts are varied, and can be sandy or rocky, but all boast pristine beaches and crystal-clear waters. Some of the most renowned locations in Salento for summer holidays (from May/June to September) are: Ostuni, Casalabate, Oria, Ugento, Manduria, Porto Cesareo, Gallipoli, Torre dell’Orso, Otranto, Santa Maria di Leuca, Lizzano, Pulsano, Santa Cesarea Terme.

Adriatic Sea, Roca Vecchia, Italy

Adriatic Sea, Roca Vecchia, Italy

Where to stay in Salento

Le Torri, Santa Susanna

It is built on the foundations of a Roman villa. According to legend, St Peter took refuge here before heading for martyrdom and Rome: there’s a tiny 7th-century Byzantine church with frescoes in its grounds. Dinner is served on a shady terrace, and might include grilled aubergines with capers and lemon, rich meat stews, swordfish, and the bosky, bilberry-tasting primitivo wines of southern Puglia.

Masseria San Nicola, Patù

Masseria San Nicola, Patù is a 17th-century summer villa set in olive groves, and has self-catering apartments. The hosts will cook a traditional Salentine dinner including their own wine, figs and olives on request.

Torre La Pinta

Torre La Pinta is a 7th-century hypogeum. Small and slightly chaotic, it serves lunches with 10 local antipasti including pietole , a local fried dumpling, and peppers stuffed with polenta and mozzarella.

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