The landscapes of Salento: extraordinary straddling two seas

Occupies that part of territory in the southern part of our peninsula called "" heel of Italy "" embraced by the Ionian Sea to the west and east by the Adriatic Sea, in the ancient Messapian fact Salento means "" land surrounded by the sea "" . The heart of the Salento landscapes seen from above is its chief town, Lecce, a city dominated by rich Baroque monuments. The wealth of decorations and architectural exuberance of this city makes it a tourist destination and major international study. The Salento coast and its interior offers very different landscapes depending on the outlook: The white Manduria in the center of the Murgia with its churches and Romanelli cave or Zinzulosa in Santa Cesarea, famous for its stalactites and stalagmites. Santa Cesarea spa with its Moorish villas and its plant hydrothermal overlooking the sea is an elegant testimony to the eclectic style. Not far from the Bay of Porto Miggiano with its bay and its limestone cliffs is a safe and picturesque harbor. In Porto Cesareo, opposite the Torre Chianca, dry and sandy bottoms form small atolls in the middle of the transparent waters that evoke a tropical landscape. The landscapes of Salento offer a show full of varied elements: the reddish earth characterized by expanses of olive trees as far as the eye can see, the fortified farms built between 1500 and 1700 and from small towns whose whitewashed houses become in the light of sun of an intense white, almost blinding. The dry stone walls that line the country roads. Industriousness mixed with spirituality, in small shrines which by the way are mixed to the trulli and the grandeur of the Basilica of Santa Maria de Finibus Terrae from where Our Lady of Borders opens her arms to the East from the top of the promontory of Leuca. The sea from the cliffs of the Adriatic has a blue color, while observed from the low cliffs of the Ionian Sea or the sandy beaches become emerald green. The beach at Torre dell'Orso, the protected oasis of the Alimini lakes, karst caves make up the special charm of the natural heritage of Salento between landscapes and about 40 km from Lecce is Gallipoli, a city that stretches for half a 'island of calcareous origin. The old town is connected to the mainland and to the new part of the city by a bridge of 1600, while the St. Andrew's Island closes the horizon. On the opposite side, on the Adriatic, Otranto is a prestigious suburb for its cathedral and the Gothic castle. In Santa Maria di Leuca, famous for its nineteenth-century villas and for being the Gateway to the East, the territory is dotted with caves, watchtowers and Neolithic artifacts from different eras. And here, in Punta Meliso, it is said that under certain conditions, you can see with the naked eye the current Ionian embrace those of the Adriatic.