The Porto Selvaggio Regional Natural Park
Ten kilometers away from the Municipality of Nardò and a little less than twenty from the Municipality of Gallipoli there is an obligatory stop for those visiting Salento: a natural oasis that includes the Cala di Porto Selvaggio, the Palude del Capitano and the Torre dall 'Alto, a natural area protected by regional law since 2006 and included in 2007 in the list of "100 places to save" of the Italian Environment Fund (FAI).
We said an obligatory appointment, for lovers of seaside resorts, sports and nature in general. You can get there by driving a few minutes from the Municipality of Nardò and after having parked in one of the stops used, you walk a few hundred meters and find yourself in front of a natural spectacle to rub your eyes, a long descent immersed in nature leads in fact to a small beach of gravel and pebbles with a crystalline sea, whose waters are particularly refreshing and invigorating, also due to a current of fresh and cold water that reaches directly into the bay. The beach is surrounded by a large pine forest, whose trees were planted in the 1950s to reclaim the largely marshy surrounding land.
Within this natural park, which is not limited to the beach area, but includes over four hundred hectares of land, of which over two hundred and sixty of pine forest, there are various itineraries and different possibilities to relax or play sports; there are in fact the surrounding cliffs, a little more inaccessible than the "pine forest area", but which still allow bathing, there are also the numerous paths inside the pine forest, usable for walks or picnics and which are also an unmissable appointment for lovers of trekking and mountain biking. Speaking of trekking, among the most remarkable views of the park, returning to Gallipoli, you can go up along the pine forest and admire the Tower of Santa Maria from the High, an ancient watchtower, located 50 meters above sea level, on a rocky spur overlooking the beach, from which you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the entire natural park. The tower was erected in the second half of the 16th century and was part of an elaborate system of defensive turrets spread over the entire Salento coast, communicating to the north with Torre Uluzzo and to the south with Torre Santa Caterina. This system of turrets represents a historical heritage of the Salento area, but in a certain sense it is also an emotional heritage for the local population, as each of these turrets marks the landscape of the Salento coast in a unique way, we will talk about it in more detail with another article on this blog.
Speaking of history, the Porto Selvaggio Natural Park, in addition to the landscape treasure and the possibilities for sports of various kinds, also offers unmissable opportunities for archeology enthusiasts: eight different archaeological sites in the cave have been identified within the park , a sign of presence first by Neanderthal groups and subsequently by Sapiens, and the territory of the Municipality of Nardò is the center of an extraordinary "district of prehistory", with a historical stratification ranging from Neanderthal and Sapiens frequentations to those left by Messapi and then later by the Romans, up to the baroque architecture of the historic center of the same municipality. The Museum of Prehistory of Nardò, located in the former convent of Sant’Antonio da Padova, preserves most of the finds from archaeological research conducted in the area.
This wonderful natural oasis is located on the side of the Salento coast that faces west and therefore those who are there at sunset will see the sun slowly sink into the sea, we therefore recommend that you end your day in Porto Selvaggio with an aperitif in one of the numerous bars or kiosks between the natural oasis and Gallipoli, you will end a simply perfect day at the beach.
The heritage of architectural eclecticism in Salento: the Moorish palaces
In architecture, “eclecticism” is defined as a current that aims at mixing the best stylistic elements present in the various architectural movements. The movement was born in England in 1700, then in the following century it spread widely to the rest of Europe, eventually reaching southern Italy as well. In its initial phase, European architectural eclecticism drew its ideas from different historical periods, with the birth of neo-Greek architecture, followed by the neo-Renaissance and then by the neo-baroque, but over the years the interpreters of eclecticism sought the their inspiration not elsewhere in time but in space, in the architecture of distant and exotic places, hence the Neo-Moorish and Neo-Egyptian architecture, but there was also no lack of Chinese and Indian influences.
What we will look at more closely is the neo-Moorish style, which left splendid traces in the Salento peninsula, but which arrived in the West primarily in France, following Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in 1798, and later developed in England and in other European countries, also due to colonialism in the East. Among the most distinctive elements of Moorish architecture we note the presence of circular domes, generally surmounted by a pointed spire, the use of bright colors and a large amount of intricate decorative motifs.
One of the most shining examples of this style in Salento is undoubtedly Villa Sticchi in Santa Cesarea Terme, a splendid building set in one of the most beautiful corners of the entire southern coast of the Adriatic, majestic and immediately recognizable even from far away, for reasons functional as well as aesthetic: the imposing central pagoda, in fact, which makes its profile so unmistakable, at the time was also designed to reflect the sunlight and become a beacon for ships sailing off the coast. This private residence can be considered a real icon of the local area, it was completed in 1894 on the ambitious project of the engineer Giuseppe Ruggeri, who signed many other Moorish residences on the two coasts of Salento, including the one he occupied as his own residence. in Leuca, or Villa La Meridiana, with an octagonal plan and also unmistakable from the outside due to its lively red and yellow parallel bands.
Another very interesting case is that of the “Eclectic Villas of the Cenate”, which take their name from the place where they were built, the Cenate in fact. These stately villas were designed and built between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the next, in the midst of the "eclectic period" and we can admire them on the roads that lead from Nardò to the marinas of Santa Maria al Bagno and Santa Caterina. Walking or cycling through these country roads suddenly, in the middle of the characteristic olive trees, these precious baroque villas appear, in Art Nouveau style or even here in neo-Moorish style, as in the case of the beautiful Villa Saetta (now De Michele) and Villa Cristina dei Personè (now De Benedittis).
This desire to experiment and enrich the local landscape with exotic motifs and shapes was not limited to the coast but also took hold in the city of Lecce, only that while for the summer residences you could indulge yourself in the decorations, especially with the colors, city eclecticism took on less pronounced tones. In Lecce, however, there are some examples of nineteenth-century villas resulting from the architectural eclecticism of the period, almost all along the avenues created at the end of the nineteenth century in place of the newly demolished sixteenth-century walls. Interesting for the variety of architectural characters is Villa Bray, in neo-Moorish style, with an inscription in Arabic characters under the cornice, decorated with horizontal yellow and red bands: on the first floor the windows have horseshoe arches, on the second the arches are Byzantines, on the pointed arch gate. Villa Indraccolo also has oriental-style decorations. Another example of eclecticism declined according to local taste is Villa Himera, whose friezes are carved in Lecce stone.
The farms in Salento
Throughout Mediterranean Europe, as well as in many areas of North and South America and also elsewhere in the world, there are large rural buildings, known by various names: hacienda, ranch, farm, baglio, the Catalan masia or precisely the masseria, typical of Southern Italy, which we will deal with in this article.
These buildings had common characteristics: large spaces, the presence of internal courtyards, very often used as an orchard and also used as a farmyard for poultry, stables and large spaces used for the conservation or production of food. Obviously, wells and cisterns could not be missing and often there were increasingly advanced tools and technologies, such as the oil mills that were supplied to many of these buildings in Southern Italy. Wells and oil mills were also often made available to inhabitants outside the farm, which therefore became the most important meeting and social center of all the neighboring areas.
From the fourteenth century onwards, after the first imports of tobacco into Europe and with the increasing diffusion of the various uses of this plant, tobacco factories, generally smaller in size and more elementary in their size, obviously spread across the continent alongside the farms. structure, but they too survived the industrialization of tobacco production and were reborn as valuable housing units. In Castrignano del Capo, for example, you can admire the Antico Tabacchificio local, dating back to the nineteenth century, with an enviable position, halfway between the town and the splendid seaside resort of "le Felloniche", and with an elegant architecture in full harmony with the surrounding countryside, a clear example of an ancient agricultural production center destined to become a residential unit of absolute value.
The fact that more or less buildings of this type can be found all over the world is due to their common origin, that is, the large landholdings, known to us as "estates", which for many centuries have been the only production model. farming around the world. The large owner, who often lived in the few inhabited centers that existed at the time, far from the cultivations, granted the peasants (in our case called "massari") the possibility of living in these buildings, which served as the final center of production and conservation of agricultural products. Sometimes, however, the owner lived on the farm together with the peasants and in this case the architecture of the building reflected the difference in status of its inhabitants, with the owner family who lived on the upper floors or in the central buildings and the peasants relegated to the lower floors. or in peripheral structures.
Where the historical events and the conflicts that followed required it, the farms were fortified and also became bulwarks against foreign invasion; in Salento for example, after the Turkish invasion of 1480, King Charles V decided to strengthen the defense of the territory, arranging the construction or renovation of existing buildings, equipping them with towers for sighting of enemies and fortified fences. In the Salento peninsula, therefore, there are several, the Masseria Torre Casciani, the Masseria Melcarne and the Masseria Torcito, surrounded by a very rich vegetation and much loved by the local citizens for the possibility of hiking and picnics, just to name a few.
A separate note deserve the farms in some way connected to the Roman Church or to ancient noble families related to it, which were entrusted and managed by monastic or knightly orders, in these obviously there was always a small chapel to await the daily religious functions. that marked the day. In the Municipality of Surbo the splendid Masseria Schiavelle survives the decay, of which one can still admire the severe architecture halfway between the residential and the military complex.
The production model based on large estates was the only one known all over the world until almost the twentieth century, when a progressive democratization of agricultural production and therefore also of the society that revolved around it, together with the evolution of production, conservation and of the commercialization of agricultural products, it has broken up and divided the estates making the farms and other architectures similar to them obsolete and useless for large-scale agricultural production; from this moment the destiny of these structures has changed, in some cases they have been condemned to a slow ruin, to abandonment or conversion into anonymous warehouses, but fortunately they have become more and more luxurious homes. , and gradually more and more appreciated and requested. The transformation was often easy, as the farms were built already from their origin taking into account a certain aesthetic and architectural taste, thanks to the skill of craftsmen and masons who worked stone, carparo or tuff. Very often these were buildings built with a view to functionality, to make life in the fields less difficult and therefore to ease the fatigue of the settlers, offer practical solutions and ensure maximum usability of the environments, respecting a certain balance between man and nature, between the building and the territory, but the aesthetic taste of the masters of the time always added something to these needs for balance and functionality, such as the façades whose solemnity can remind us of a church rather than an ordinary home. Many examples of this precious architecture can be seen around the Salento countryside, for example the Masseria Santa Barbara, which we recommend you admire on your next visit to the town of Otranto.
The best routes in Salento: trekking, walking, cycling, motorbike or other First itinerary: Otranto - Santa Maria di Leuca coast road
The recent success of Salento as a tourist destination is mainly due to the splendor of its coast and the beauty of the capital Lecce, but there is much more to discover: archaeological, naturalistic, landscape and food and wine treasures are widespread throughout the Salento peninsula. A great way to discover them all is to pack your backpack and set off on an adventure, along itineraries, to be covered on foot, by bike, by motorbike or by car, which are a journey in stages between the pleasures of nature, food, culture and local history, let's see some of them in this and in the next posts on our blog.
We begin our journey by car or motorbike, on the magnificent coast road Otranto - Santa Maria di Leuca, undoubtedly one of the most fascinating tours of Salento, as well as one of the most beautiful panoramic roads in Italy. While skirting the Adriatic, the jewels of the Salento coast follow one after the other: on one side the cliffs overlooking the sea, the ancient defense towers, the caves and inlets, on the other side the centuries-old olive trees, the typical dry stone walls, many small town halls rich in history and artistic beauties, with their bars overlooking the historic centers, where you can stop to cool off with a pasticciotto and an ice coffee.
It starts from Otranto, after visiting the city center and walking on the ramparts, continue towards the south and entering the vegetation you can admire an unusual sight: an emerald green lake in a hollow of the intense red soil, surrounded by the green of the marsh vegetation, the result of a disused bauxite quarry where nature has magically created a new ecosystem. A few kilometers and another spectacle awaits us, the Punta Palascia Lighthouse, the easternmost place in Italy, from which you can admire a breathtaking panorama. Continuing to drive always keeping the sea on the left, we continue to admire the ever new views that the cliff and the vegetation create at every turn. A few more kilometers and we arrive in Porto Badisco, where we can admire the bay (one of Enea's possible first landings in Italy) and, if the season permits, indulge in an unmissable lunch based on the freshest sea urchins. After this tasty lunch break we leave again, we cross the pretty Santa Cesarea Terme, which, as the name suggests, is also a renowned spa. Immediately behind Santa Cesarea, we find the beauty of Porto Miggiano, a rocky cove with a sandy bottom, located in an inlet overlooking the sea, protected by an ancient watchtower, it is one of the most spectacular beaches of the Puglia, sheltered from the winds; the natural play of lights, colors and the turquoise sea make it the ideal place for snorkeling. We still follow the road and we find the suggestive Zinzulusa cave, created in prehistoric times by marine erosion, is a spectacle of stalactites and stalagmites that are reflected in the turquoise water inside a majestic cavity. We continue through Castro and from here we reach the marina of Marittima, where there is another beautiful inlet, that of Acquaviva, so called because of the cold water springs that flow from the rock. Immediately after there is the marina of Andrano, with the unmissable seaside resorts, such as the Green Grotto, after that there is the splendid Tricase Porto, one of the most evocative and elegant holiday resorts of the entire eastern coast of Puglia. Here we can choose whether to continue along the sea or to allow ourselves a detour towards the interior of the territory, where there are many municipalities that are certainly worth a visit, such as Specchia, surrounded by centuries-old olive trees, and recently inserted among the most beautiful villages in Italy. Among pretty alleys and stairways stand out the sixteenth-century Risolo palace and the fifteenth-century cathedral in Piazza del Popolo; not far away the Baronial Palace, the Byzantine Church of Santa Eufemia and that of the Black Franciscans, adorned with valuable frescoes. It is also worth giving yourself a visit to the ancient underground oil mills of the town, restored and open to the public, where you can often and willingly also make deserving tastings of local products.
If, on the other hand, we have chosen to continue along the coast, the last kilometers of the coastal road start from Marina Serra, to the end of the earth, in the middle of the Ciolo bridge, which dominates one of the most loved and photographed inlets of the entire Salento coast.
The time for a last look at the enchanting coast of Salento and we arrived in Santa Maria di Leuca: in front of us all that remains is the blue of the sea.
We visit the Sanctuary on the promontory, the very high lighthouse, the aqueduct waterfall and the eclectic style villas, built by local nobles in a competition of luxury and eccentricity. Time to have dinner and we can enjoy the night on the bustling promenade.
The best routes in Salento: trekking, walking, cycling, motorbike or other Trekking itineraries
The recent success of Salento as a tourist destination is mainly due to the splendor of its coast and the beauty of the capital Lecce, but there is much more to discover: archaeological, naturalistic, landscape and food and wine treasures are widespread throughout the Salento peninsula. An excellent way to discover them all is to pack your backpack and set off on an adventure, along itineraries to be covered on foot, by bike, by motorbike or by car, which are a journey in stages between the pleasures of nature, of food. , local culture and history. Let's see some of them in this and in the next posts on our blog.
In a previous article on this blog we had already analyzed in detail the route Otranto - Santa Maria di Leuca, to be covered by car making numerous stops to enjoy the splendid landscapes, excellent food and all the cultural heritage that can be enjoyed in Salento . Today we will see what trekking enthusiasts can do in the area.
In fact, trekking in Salento is possible and the paths to be done are many and interesting both from the landscape and cultural point of view, obviously we are not talking about slopes or differences in height to which trekking enthusiasts who frequent the mountains are used, but we are talking about routes and walks capable of lasting whole days and that allow you to combine the passion for physical activity with the possibility of spending a few hours on the beach.
The first itinerary we recommend is that of Porto Selvaggio: we start from Santa Caterina with a suggestive climb up to Torre dell'Alto, with the first stop at the Capelvenere cave; arrived at the tower we proceed down along the stone stairs that cross the pine forest, until we reach the small bay of Porto Selvaggio, here another stop is inevitable to take a bath in the crystal clear waters of the bay, before continuing along the cliff, until you reach the Grotta del Cavallo and the Bay of Uluzzo with its tower. The route is around 7 kilometers long and it is not too difficult, so if you still have enough energy you can continue with a visit to the town of Nardò or with a suggestive aperitif at sunset in one of the numerous bars in the area.
The second proposal is a trekking route about 13 kilometers long, which starts from the Port of Otranto to reach Punta Palascia and from here return through the disused bauxite quarry.
From the Port of Otranto we immediately find coastal paths, easily passable, from which we will immediately be in sight of the Torre del Serpe, which we reach after a short climb. We go around the tower and follow the path towards the Orte Bay. We arrive in the heart of the bay, where the coast slopes down to its lowest point and nature is still wild and unspoiled. Enjoying the contrast between the bare rocks and the vegetative patches we continue towards Punta Palascia. From this point and up to the arrival at the lighthouse of Punta Palascia the landscape takes your breath away and on clear days with the wind from the North you can admire the mountains of Albania. Once at the lighthouse we are geographically in the most eastern point of Italy. The place is also known as Capo d’Otranto. The old lighthouse, erected in 1897, has recently been renovated and has become a popular destination for tourists. From here you can in fact enjoy a spectacular view, with the lighthouse that stands out among the rocks and overlooks the infinite crystalline expanse of the sea, at the point where the Ionian and Adriatic seas meet. Once you reach the lighthouse, to return to Otranto, you can reach the provincial road that connects Otranto to Santa Cesarea Terme. We walk along a path on the side of the road and returning to Otranto we stop at the beautiful former bauxite quarry.
Continuing further north we come to a crossroads with the SP358 road. We cross the intersection and take a downhill road that soon reaches the outskirts of Otranto, Santa Maria dei Martiri. We continue going down to a stone bridge from which on the right we reach the small chapel of Santa Maria del Passo, near the port, where our journey ends.
The third excursion we recommend will take you to discover the Alimini Lakes and the Baia dei Turchi. The itinerary takes place through the streets and paths of the Alimini Lakes, a natural site of high naturalistic interest for the Apulian territory. The two lakes act as a great oasis for many plant and animal species. The circular route continues towards the legendary Baia dei Turchi, where according to tradition the Ottomans landed to besiege the city of Otranto in the 15th century. This route is around 10 km long, but unlike the other two it has no slope, not even minimal, it is therefore much more relaxing and we advise you to integrate it with a visit to the numerous farmhouses in the area, or with a horse ride in the countryside. surrounding or, if the season permits, with a swim in one of the many splendid coves that meet along the beach adjacent to the two lakes.
Slightly shorter, less sporty and more relaxing excursions can be done in the hinterland, such as visiting the La Mandra di Calimera Natural Park. At the edge of the road that runs along the park you can admire a splendid and huge example of carob, the pine forest that extends for 90,000 square meters is entirely open to visitors and inside paths and picnic areas with tables and benches have been created. From the parts of Tricase, on the other hand, you can visit the local wood and admire the famous Quercia Vallonea, a magnificent specimen of oak that is certainly more than 800 years old.