The Salento

The Salento has been always a crossing point between different cultures and religions, a crossroads of exchanges.

Tricase - Tricase Porto

Tricase is the town in which the Nesca Farm is situated. It is a little town with approximately 17.000 residents, it includes also the country hamlets of Depressa, Lucugnano, Caprarica, Tutino and it has approximately 8 km of high and uneven coast, rich in typical vegetation of the Mediterranean Maquis.

It is far from Lecce approximately 55 km and it can be reached from the Trunk road 275, from Otranto 30 km and from Gallipoli 40 km. Its Marine Tricase Porto and Marina Serra can be reached in few minutes. The expanse of coast of Tricase is delimited by the Torre del Sasso in the East side and by the Canino Promontory in the West side.

The port is practically constituted by a natural inlet to which a further arm was lately added increasing the number of the boat places to give tourists. In Tricase Porto we find the church of St. Nicola, the patron saint, and the « Torre del Sasso » of the XVI century and used as a defence tool from the pirate raids.

The “Canale del Rio” has a particular charm, it is an inlet that according to the legend was created by the devil in only one night; in spite of the legend, the waters of the inlet and the coast which drops sheer to the sea are really beautiful and they attract many visitors.

In Marina Serra we find the small Temple dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary of the XVI century; Along the Calino promontory characterized by a thick and luxuriant vegetation, you can visit, only from the sea, the Matrona Cave , beautiful for the colours of water thanks to the reflection of the sunbeams; another beautiful locality is the BELVEDERE placed on the coast road Novaglie-Leuca and from which you can enjoy a beautiful panorama as far as the Marine of Andrano and Castro.

In Tricase the historical centre is very particular with its houses at court, “Piazza Pisanelli”, the workshop of pottery, the Baronial Buildings, the Winspeares Castle in Depressa, the Santa Maria del Mito Abbey, the Church of the Nativity and the Blessed Virgin, the Church of St. Domenico and the Dominican Convent, the Church of the Archangel Gabriel, the Church Nova or of the Madonna of Constantinople, the Madonna of Fatima Sanctuary.

Santa Maria di Leuca

This locality placed on the tip of Apulia, is the watershed between the Ionian and the Adriatic sea and it is well-known since ancient times because it represented a forced port for all traffics between the West and the Oriental Sea.

Its coast is characterized by the presence of many caves that it is possible to visit thanks to the excursions organized by local operators. The beautiful Sanctuary of the Madonna was made built by the Pope Giulio I in the 300 A.D. and today it is the destination of many devoted pilgrims.

Otranto

Otranto is a beautiful locality known in the whole Italian peninsula for the high tourist attraction.

Looking out the Adriatic side, Otranto is characterized by the presence of the cathedral dedicated to Our Lady of the Annunciation where the relics of the 800 Martyrs beheaded by the Turks are preserved, by an imposing Castle and by some coastal towers near the Coast.

Lecce

Lecce, known for the incomparable style of the Baroque, offers many monuments for the tourist. Apart from the imposing "Carlo V” Castle, there are different churches which are built using the typical stone of Lecce, and that capture the attention of the visitor, like the Cathedral, the Church of Santa Croce, The Church of St Anna, the Church of St Irene and the characteristic Amphitheatre in Piazza Sant'Oronzo.