Salento is not just mass tourism, crowded beaches and summer nightlife. There is another Salento, authentic and sustainable, which invites you to a slow and conscious travel experience. This is the message that Vivilitalia, a company specialized in environmental tourism, wants to convey through the Green Community Ionico-Adriatica project and the creation of the Salento Ionico cycle path.
A Sustainability Project: The Green Community Ionico-Adriatica
The Green Community Ionico-Adriatica project promotes sustainable development in the Ionian-Adriatic area, aiming to integrate environmental protection with economic and social growth. The initiative has the following main objectives:
Spread practices of circular and sustainable economy.
Implement projects for the production of green energy.
Requalify degraded areas.
Promote cycle tourism as a sustainable alternative to traditional tourism.
Among the concrete results, the creation of the Salento Ionico cycle path stands out: a cycle-tourist route of about 305 kilometers, divided into five rings that can be traveled in a day, which passes through farms, wild beaches and historic villages. A dedicated app has also been developed to support travelers, which facilitates navigation along the cycle path, indicating paths, points of interest and bike-friendly facilities.
The Salento Ionico Cycle Path: A Route Between the Sea and Villages
The route winds mainly on secondary roads with low traffic intensity and is divided into five main rings:
- Ugento-Racale: It crosses wetlands of great naturalistic value and coastal areas such as Capilungo and Punta della Suina, famous for their pristine beauty.
- Gallipoli-Racale: An itinerary that touches suggestive places such as the Punta Pizzo Regional Park and the Island of Sant’Andrea.
- Nardò-Gallipoli: Here you will find the villas of Santa Maria al Bagno and the breathtaking panorama of Porto Selvaggio, with its crystalline sea and wild nature.
- Porto Cesareo-Nardò: Between medieval coastal towers and coastlines of rare beauty.
- Manduria-Torre Lapillo: A journey through history and tradition, up to the land of Primitivo, the symbolic wine of the area.
A Journey through Nature, Culture and Identity
The complete route starts from Lecce, a city with baroque charm, and passes through some of the most beautiful villages in Salento.
Among these, Galatina, famous for the Basilica of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, and Ugento, with its unique ecosystems. From Nardò, the journey continues towards the Taranto side, passing through Torre Lapillo and Torre Colimena, where you can admire the medieval coastal towers. Finally, we reach Manduria, land of the famous Primitivo wine.
Roberto Guido, creator of the route, describes it as “an extraordinary travel experience in Salento that brings together the treasures of the hinterland with the sea, but above all with nature, going beyond the clichés of seaside tourism”.
A Community Network for Sustainable Tourism
The project was made possible thanks to the collaboration between municipal administrations, associations and local economic operators, coordinated under the Memorandum of Understanding of the Ionian-Adriatic Green Community. Among the participating municipalities: Alliste, Avetrana, Galatone, Gallipoli, Manduria, Nardò, Porto Cesareo, Racale, Taviano and Ugento.
“The Salento Ionian cycle path is the icing on the cake of the Green Community”, says the mayor of Nardò, Pippi Mellone. “For years we have been working on a slow tourism offer, which focuses on the experiential and identity factor”.
Alternative Tourism on the Rise
According to Sebastiano Venneri, president of Vivilitalia, “cycle tourism is a rapidly growing market, with a turnover of 5.5 billion euros in the last year”. The Salento Ionico cycle route represents a further opportunity for the area to deseasonalise the tourist offer, offering accessible and immersive routes even in spring and autumn, when temperatures are ideal for cycling.
Discovering Salento by Bike
From today, exploring Salento means choosing slow, sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism, fully experiencing the area with all your senses. A bike trip through farms, parks, villages and breathtaking coasts, rediscovering the authentic soul of a Salento that goes beyond mass tourism.
The Salento Ionico cycle route is a unique opportunity for those who want a true and profound experience, cycling through history, culture and uncontaminated nature.