Information - Itinerariesi

Lecce, the capital of Salento, is known as the Florence of the South for the sheer abundance of its exquisite architecture. The malleable local stone permits stone carvers to create incredibly intricate forms which decorate all of the important buildings with the complexity of a rich tapestry and the lightness for which the ‘Barocco Leccese' is famous throughout the world. Lecce is the centre of papier mache, an ancient tradition which is still commonly practiced. There are numerous workshops where you can see the making of small domestic objects up to huge statues that have been commissioned by churches or museums. Also a thriving contemporary city, Lecce offers excellent shopping opportunities, fabulous restaurants and a vibrant night life.
There are many towns and villages in Salento that will surprise you for the richness and integrity of their preservation both structural and social. Life here continues as it always has been, old men and women sitting and chatting on benches in the piazza, markets in the town centres and children and dogs playing contentedly under the shade to the trees in the mid morning sun. Having always been a geographical cross roads the locals welcome visitors with an openness and friendliness that is both heart warming and touching.
We will just mention the three most famous cities in Southern Salento.
Gallipoli, which in Greek means cittá bella, is a completely fortified city sitting on a small island connected to the mainland by a bridge. A multifaceted town steeped in a marine history, Gallipoli still exists as an active, lively working port with a fabulous fresh fish market. The sounds of everyday life resonate through the small streets where visitors and locals mingle in total harmony. At night Gallipoli is alive with small restaurants and bars, but is relaxing and quiet where you can take a night time stroll around the seafront fortification walls. Its cathedral and churches are incredibly opulent and display the wealth that was incurred in the past from its strategic position on international trade routes. Otranto is the Door

to the Orient, another fortified town facing the Albanian coast. It was the Byzantine capital of Southern Italy and is probably most famous for its cathedral, housing a spectacular mosaic which covers the whole floor and an astonishing chapel that is the resting place for 800 martyrs slaughtered by the Turks in 1480, their skulls are displayed all along the walls. This somewhat gory reminder of history should not surprise people who have read the Castle of Otranto which was the setting for the first famous gothic novel written by Sir Robert Walpole. Although popular amongst tourists for its extraordinary beauty, the mood in Otranto is one of elegant self containment and tranquillity. This is a town that caters for visitors but hasn't sold out to them. Santa Maria di Leuca, the Italian lands-end, is located on the furthest tip of the Salentine peninsula and sits exactly where the Ionian and Adriatic seas meet. It was the first and last port of call for the many people travelling to and from the East, who used to go and revere Zeus at a site that still exist today. Leuca, meaning white in Greek, has very strong Greek and Middle Eastern influences and indeed enjoys an intense luminosity throughout the year. Even in winter, when the sea is rough and the wind is blowing, Leuca remains bright and optimistic, with little welcoming seafront cafés open all year round. It is wonderful to stroll along the elegant promenade looking out to choppy Greek sea sheltered by the lavish and sometimes eccentric villas built here at the end of the 19th C by wealthy aristocrats. Practically every town and village in Salento has shops that sell produtti tipici, ranging from the wonderful local gastronomic specialities and excellent wines to the numerous arts and crafts. In the larger towns the best of Italian fashion can be found at much lower prices than in bigger Italian cities in the North.

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Salento - History and art - Traditions - Crafts - Food and wine - Land and sea - Towns and cities - Flora and fauna - Climate - Information

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