The palette of blue... Salento, Puglia, Italy

This is the travel diary of a pleasant vacation spent in Salento.
This land, in Apulia extreme strip surrounded by 3 sides by the sea, actually offers many opportunities to enjoy the most of its territory. The sea is fantastic and is something for everyone: there's the Ionian beaches with fine sand and very clean and a turquoise sea that does not decide to become ever deeper and there is the Adriatic, almost all lapped by high cliffs , a paradise for divers, lovers of snorkeling and diving and rich with many caves.
But also from a cultural and artistic Salento can give interesting insights: Lecce visit is required for the many testimonies of the Baroque who meet while walking in the center. But other countries in the province hold prestigious monuments, first of all Galatina with the church of Santa Caterina. From a tourism point of view, the Salento is organized in an intelligent: it is distributed somewhat 'wherever a Guide to the main festivals, fairs and shows in the area and so every evening there is a place with a typical sample from a group or music to listen to, almost all of considerable quality. And if you really do not know what to do, a walk in the city of Otranto and Gallipoli allows a real bath of the crowd.
As a place where we chose an overnight B & B (the Salento is full, easy to find on the internet) to Cutrofiano. Cutrofiano a country is equidistant from 2 seas and out of the tour, if not in the evenings where there is the Notte della Taranta. Consequently, the accommodations are rather economic and strategic place to visit pretty well every area of the peninsula. The country is also famous for the terracotta, the shops of shoes, but especially enjoys festival un'imperdibile oil and wine, where you eat very good things practically free!
We chose the B & B "Contrada Viva", below are the references.
The place is very beautiful, between stretches of olive groves and vineyards, the welcome warm and pleasant. In B & B are also 3 dogs and several cats, all quite peaceful with people.
Breakfast buffet served outside under the portico, is a pleasure to enjoy a calm biscuits, pastries, homemade cakes, pizza, Indian figs, melons ...
In high season you pay 50-60 euros for a double per day, depending on whether or not the bathroom. The rooms are spacious, air conditioned and with modern furniture.

B & B Contrada Viva
Via Collepasso
Cutrofiano 73020 (LE)
tel. +39 0836 515331
cell. +39 349 7537874
email annave@virgilio.it
Website: www.contradaviva.it

 

We arrive by train to Lecce in the late afternoon. Car hire: Europcar has the office in the suburbs, we do not bring your car in the station as promised, we have to take a taxi to reach their home. We rented a Matiz that for 2 persons without luggage is enough to run along the streets of Salento. About 200 euro for 10 days of hire. Important note: Do not underestimate the distances of places to visit, especially holding the number of countries to be crossed to reach them! To overcome them will lose tens of minutes, turning constantly zig-zag secondary inland following the signs ... until there are! Stop signs are present then continuously forced to stop and give way to private streets that cross the provincial road that you are going! We need a good dose of patience.
Accommodation in B & B

The wind decides whether to contact the Ionian (protected from wind) and the Adriatic (favorable when scirocco). Vince Ionian: si va a Sant'Isidoro Torre-Torre Squillace, just south of Porto San Cesareo. In August is quite a Carnaio, but a place among the rocks you can find to spread. Beautiful sea, but suffers dell'affollamento not clear.
Spend the afternoon in Porto Selvaggio, a protected somewhat 'to the south, which is reached via a trail that descends to the sea through a beautiful forest. Great sea, rich in fish. To detect the local "Al fico d'India, just where you take the path, much sui generis, populated by special characters.
Evening at the restaurant "Li panzanari" in Muro Leccese. A room where the dinner is "suffering"! Dishes arrive at all times on each side of the table, without being able to utter the word. Indeed the food is too good (especially the appetizers with vegetables!) And pace madman! The vision of the account is not speaking: 17 euros for a mountain of food as well!

We address to the Ionian, but a little 'further south, towards the beaches of Pesculuse the "Maldives' del Salento, not far from Leuca. Choose access more distant from the country, you pay for parking the car, secured, 2 euros, but then the beach is free. Certainly more accessible Torre Sant'Isidoro, although equally crowded, the sea is so transparent, but a little 'rough that day so that the name "Maldives" appears somewhat' exaggerated. Merits in any event, even for the dunes covered with lilies at the back of the beach. In these early days I am surprised positively the cleanliness of the beaches of Salento, I have found comparisons in Italy to date.
Casarano evening spent hearing the Mercanti di Liquore with Marco Paolini: exciting!
Thousands of people to follow monologues and songs that tell reality that are far away at the bottom: the resistance, polenta, Venetian language. Paolini himself is excited, he felt that he had touched the hearts of many salentini, it is palpable, as well as having fun with some of his funny anecdotes.

We insist in the Ionian Sea and the beaches, this time we head north towards the border with the province of Taranto. The coast north of Porto Cesareo, Torre Lapillo from Punta Prosciutto is a natural reserve and immediately struck by the beauty of beach and dunes and the color of the sea. We stop in Punta Prosciutto, where the beach is free and a lovely bar by the sea can enjoy a wonderful view with the sea breeze to cheer. A paradise! Surely the most beautiful beach view during the holidays, recommended to anyone.
In the evening we visited Lecce, which in recent years has become a real gem: the old town and cleaned renovated, with Lecce stone that shines its ocher through careful lighting. The cathedral, Sant'Oronzo square and the church of Santa Croce deserve a break. Warning: Parking in Lecce is a problem!

The wind changes, you head to the Adriatic. Anna, who is hosting us in B & B, we suggest you go to St. Andrews. Tip priceless! Sant'Andrea in August is not so crowded and most people are concentrated in a small beach on the right, parking on the left instead of the country access to the cliff and then go down easily to almost sea level. On these flat rocks you can sunbathe and fairly comfortably, with a Tuffetto the height of 2 meters or so, starting to explore the rocks around the bay, in the midst of a sea transparent! Caves, creeks: snorkeling in this place is a pleasure, not ever find the courage to turn around and go back!
The evening dinner at the Old Dispensation Cutrofiano. We are "introduced" to this place delight the palate, our owners, which he strongly recommended. From outside looks like a shop where to buy food to take away, but if you book early, 2-3 tables upstairs are ready to give hospitality to clients. It seems to go to someone's house, to ascend the stairs you go to the kitchen, the tables are "rustic", a sheet of paper and so on. But the food ... until genuine pith! Eggplants, peppers, tomatoes in oil, orecchiette, meatballs ... abundant portions. Not the price, 10 euros!
We have tried to come back, because there was no place a baptism: but where they have made all the guests?
After in Otranto, which is really delicious.

Cloudy morning, the afternoon we head towards the lakes Alimini, just above Otranto. Parking is a quagmire, the sea is rough, but the environment as a whole is very pleasant, especially for the coniferous forest and Mediterranean scrub that surrounds and protects the coast. Cannoli evening spent at the legendary festival of Municedda! E 'una sagra prevent it, in fact beyond the gastronomic side (you can taste the municedde or land snails, and many other delicacies such as pieces of horse meat, the pittole, the artisan focaccia with anchovies), it performing groups of salentini pizzica like Tammuria mitici and Lu rusciu nosciu! Go hours and hours playing until late at night and the rhythms of obsessive pizzica and is a pleasure to see the girls Salentine interpret all the steps of this dance! Dancing people of all ages and even the tourists are so involved some risk from the movement: collective joy evenings wonderful!

A beautiful sunny day with calm wind pushes us to Roca, in the Adriatic. The place is a paradise for divers: natural stones everywhere among the ruins of the city of Messapi.
There is even a sort of natural amphitheater where you can dive from about 6 meters with all the people around and below the water, ready to give you courage to take the fateful step into the void! The local swimmers perform from a height of 10 meters and more with diving header, including somersault. Evening at the opening of a night of Taranta Corigliano. La Notte della Taranta in fact not only in the mythical evening Melpignano, where tens of thousands of people get together to dance all night, but takes about 15 days with various stages in the villages of Greece Salentine, where 2-3 teams perform folk from various Italian regions, with a group of local pizzica always present. Corigliano has hit us: we have often gone during the day and looked like a desert country, and in neglect. That evening we found also a castle which is beautiful and lively! The countries of Interior Salentine then, that seem to nap during the day, at night turn into beating heart of the area.

We insist to visit the entire Adriatic coast south of Otranto to Leuca.
There is plenty of choice for the inlets where lying to sunbathe and go swimming. We stop near Castro. Do not visit the cave Zinzulusa both advertised: Who's been said that there is money thrown away, sea caves along the Adriatic coast where they find galore visited easily swim by snorkeling. Be collected Ciolo of the cave, a sort of fjord between Tricase and Marina di Leuca, a bridge from the road that goes through it, sees daring divers often experience the thrill of a flight from a height of 40 meters, the waters are clear and There is also a source of fresh water. The evening will switch to the Cutrofiano, because there is a mythical sacred oil and wine, hosted by the winery in the country. Until a few years ago it was all free, now only the wine and oil (you said nothing!), While first and second courses must pay the substantial sum of 1.5 euros! To taste the sandwich with anchovies and ricotta forte (a bomb), the orecchiette with tomatoes and vegetables, and spumone, ice cream Salentine.

The time is not much, but we want to return to Punta Ham. Before doing so however we visit Porto Cesareo, with the delightful village of Rabbit Island opposite can also be reached on foot, because the water never exceeds one meter and thirty deep along a certain path ... But woe to err in ford the sea, at the other the bottom is deeper! The island is home to numerous native plant species. Missed in the village the statue of Manuela Arcuri! Galatina go back to the bad weather and randomly join us in the church of Santa Caterina. Well, put it in the list of monuments to visit: it's a late-medieval church would do wonderful, but the inside, if possible, leave even more open-mouthed. Completely frescoed (second only to the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi frescoes to the surface) and in excellent condition, cycles of frescoes evoke scenes of the Apocalypse and the apocryphal gospels, I personally have seen something similar only in the baptistery of Padua, but this church is at least the same level. Some volunteers are on hand to explain the works. Last night in Puglia and renounce the night of Taranta, provided that the Castrignano? Yet another bath of crowd energy and recharging!

Beautiful day, we could not resist to the bathroom. Opt to return to St. Andrews that we liked a lot and is almost on the road to return to Lecce. Fantastic and the sea calm, even if some do not leave us jellyfishes visit the seabed in peace. On the evening train to Lecce is ready to return home loads of primitive Mandria and many good memories of this warm, organized, clean and vital corner of the south.