The Salento region

ROUTES « Puglia, you have to pass it through to arrive as far as there » as Cesare Brandi wrote. It is like that: to arrive as far as “there”, in Salento, the bottom of Italy, you have to cross the entire region, through olive trees plantations and grapevines, to reach the province of Lecce, with more than 200 km of coasts, sometimes low and sandy, sometimes with sheer cliffs, it is the most eastern part of Italy with Otranto Cape situated less than 70 km far from Albania. A strait that has been crossed by different people and cultures, since...

“The people of western Greece eat as if they would die tomorrow and build palaces as if they were eternal” as Empedocles wrote, talking about Magna Graecia and Sicily. In Salento we can still enjoy some of the magical aspects belonging to the past and one of these is certainly the cuisine of this region. In fact, Cuisine of Salento is reach of ancient traditions, with intense flavours and smells, thanks to the good products coming from this land.As the landscape is dominated by olive groves (Puglia generates almost half of Italy's olive oil), ...

Pizzica or Taranta is a traditional popular dance of the city of Taranto and Salento region. This dance, invented by women, had the intent to show their desire to be free from the oppression of a strict and patriarchal culture. In order to give vent to the madness caused by the oppression, at the beginning of the Middle Age, women invented the myth of “tarantole” (tarantulas), a poisonous spider bite that made them insane and unhappy. The remedy found by women in order to cure their “syndrome” was a ritual made of a rhythmic music and dance ...

On the Adriatic coast of Salento, between the provinces of Lecce and Brindisi, is situated the location of Rocca Vecchia, seascape of Melendugno. This place is known for the “Grotta della poesia” (Poetry Cave) whose name comes from the word “posia” that in Medieval Greek means “fresh water source”, because in this cave, that has been a refuge for people passing through, there was a source. Locals connect this name to the word “poetry” because of the legend of a young and beautiful princess that was used to bath in the source. Once the news ci...

Sai addù nasci e nù ssai addù mueri - Sai dove nasci e non sai dove muori. / Ci uei l'amicizia cu mantègna nù panaru cu bbae e unu cu bbegna - Se vuoi mantenere l'amicizia un paniere deve andare e un paniere deve tornare. / La malerba crisce sempre - L'erba cattiva cresce sempre. / Ci vuè canusci li pene ti l'infiernu, a fare tre misi e mienzu ti trappitu.La prima notte piersi lu suennu, la seconda lu suennu e l'appetitu.La terza notte me finsi malatu, patrunu fatia tie allu trappitu. Se vuoi conoscere le pene dell'inferno, devi fare tre m...