Salento, is
a spur of land between two seas in the middle of the Mediterranean, posing a
challenge that olive groves, grape vines, and expanses of grain conquered in the
time of the Greeks and Romans, where the Mesopotamians had already chosen to
shelter between the plains and hills in view of the sea.
Salento is at the
end of Italy, in the land of Puglia, between Lecce, Otranto, Leuca
and Porto Cesareo, a required designation for refined travelers who are lovers
of culture and buon vivere. The sea is exciting here, with beaches spread on
dunes below ancient towers that guarded the coast from the incursions of pirates
and Saracens, and broad shining coves framed between cliffs and reefs. The
countryside is presided over by hundred-year-old olive trees and dry
stone walls that surrounded ancient manor farms and framed Medieval abbeys. The
cities tell the ancient history of Salento, from the primitive times of the
arrival of the Mesopotamians until the liberation in the tenth century through
the theatres of the Magna Grecia, the Roman consular roads, Norman castles,
Byzantine abbeys, the Baroque era of the viceroys and the art deco villas and
theatres.
Lecce is the
capital of Salento and the Baroque era: strolling through the charming
streets of the historic center, under an exultant jubilation of cherubs, angels,
masks and various decorations are glimpsed the elegant proportions of palazzos,
churches and piazzas that are among the most beautiful in Italy.
The manor farms are
the most authentic way to understand Salento. Today some welcome agritourism in
hotels of an austere and rare elegance that descends from the cultural
traditions of the farmers and nobility in the land of Puglia. Among them is the
Tenuta Monacelli of Cerrate, a perfect equidistant base to experience the
Baroque era of Lecce, the white beaches of Casalabate, the spirituality of the
abbey, Abbazia di Cerrate and the nature park of Rauccio – symbolic locations
and a compendium of everything that is Salento -; it still maintains the
trappeto ipogeo cave, recalling the thousand year old tradition of the art of
making olive oil in large underground oil mills.
We suggest
Coste del Sud Salento
| Salento - Lecce - Italy | Ph. and fax: +39 0833 626053 |
