The Salento is that strip of land that forms the heel of the boot. Sandwiched between two wonderful seas: the Ionian (West) and the Adriatic Sea (east) with more than 250 km of coast at times low and sandy, sometimes high and jagged.
It was a land of conquest in the east with the passage of Greek, Byzantine pirates. The first inhabitants of Salento were the Messapi, famous horse breeders, who came off the coasts of 'Illyria.
Salento is a peninsular region of south-eastern Apulia
Salento geographical equivalent to the old land of Otranto and therefore includes the entire province of Lecce, with 97 countries and 39 small villages surrounded by green olive groves, tobacco and vineyards, with white houses and narrow winding streets, each with its own dialect and in some countries still speak greek, almost all of Brindisi and Taranto part of that, according to the axle that connects to Taranto Ostuni.
Fine Dining
The Salento cuisine is characterized by a number of dishes, especially vegetables and fish, and is accompanied by famous DOC wines such as "Primitivo of Manduria" and "Negroamaro".
Among the most typical food stand the pieces, a horse meat stew with spicy sauce, potatoes and "Pitta", pizza low potato containing a large quantity of vegetable ingredients such as onions, turnip, tomato. Typical also called the bread with olives and "Puccia", with regard to the food walking, the "Rustico", a thin baked containing a mixture of white sauce, mozzarella, tomato, pepper and occasionally nutmeg. More typical food are the "Frisedde" or "Frise", buns of bread toasted to a consistency of great hardness, often made with wheat and barley cooked cut in half horizontally, which is softened by brief immersion in water and then seasoned with olive oil, salt and tomato.
Are also spread "pittule" (or pettule), pancakes stuffed crude form of turnips, squash blossoms, cod or without filling you enjoy soaked in mulled wine.
Very popular is the pastry, more like that of Sicily to Puglia, where stand the "Pasticciotto" Lecce, the "Fruttone", the mouth of a lady, the almond paste, the "Spumoni" Salento.
Holidays Santa Maria di Leuca, Lecce
Santa Maria di Leuca was the “ancient finis terrae” of the Roman people.
Situated between Punta Ristola and Punta Meliso, it's the extreme edge of Italy, Apulia South Italy.
Leuca in Greek means “the white” but also “light” and “promontory”.
The town has got an enchanting treasure: caves, solitary bays, coloured villas in liberty style.
You absolutely have to visit the sanctuary of S. Maria de Finibus Terrae (the legend wants that the pilgrimage to Leuca would allow pilgrims to enter heaven) and the Porcinaro and Diavolo caves.
Very suggestive to see is the Ciolo channel, called in this way for the presence of Crows (Ciolo in dialect means crow), with its panoramic bridge.
Leuca's landscape is characterized by perfumed countrysides, where there are typical constructions of rock called “pajare”.
Close to Leuca we suggest you towns such as Patù, Gagliano del Capo, Salve, Torre Vado, San Gregorio, Tricase;
To see beautiful beaches of sand please visit Posto Vecchio, TorrePali and Pescoluse, because Leuca has a coast decidedly of rocks.
In Santa Maria di Leuca we suggest you Hotels, Masserie, Bed and Breakfast, Villages, Residence, Farm Holidays and Luxury Proposal.
Holidays Otranto, Lecce
Otranto is situated on the east cost of Salento and it's very important for the peninsula's tourism.
Here the tourist can be fascinated by the local tradition but also by an oriental atmosphere.
At the end of the XV C., Otranto was besieged by the Turks, who want to impose the Moslem religion to the local people.
The Otrantines made a stand but for this reason were beheaded on the hill of the Minerva.
In memory of the 800 Idruntine martyrs it was built a church dedicated to S. Francesco e Paola.
The Byzantines, Goths, Normans, suevi, Angevin and Aragonese replaced one another over the centuries.
Important to visit is the St. Peter Church in Byzantine style, the cathedral with its mosaic and the chapel of Martyrs, the castle where today take place important cultural events and exhibitions.
Otranto has a timeless landscape and a wonderful coast, where the Adriatic sea meets the Ionian sea.
Nearby you can visit Torre dell'Orso and Castro Marina.
It enchants with its crystal clear see, white beaches, like Baia dei Turchi, Alimini (also lakes), and the suggestive rocks near Porto Badisco.
In Otranto you can do a lot of water sports, like Kite surf, windsurf, diving, sailboat, and so on.
There are many Hotels, Masserie, Bed and Breakfast, Villages, Residence, Farm Holidays and Luxury Proposal, Bars and Restaurants, Discos, when you can spend all your holiday in relaxing but also fun.