From Punta Palascia, Valona is only about eighty kilometers away, a fact that, in recent years, has made the Otranto Channel something of a highway for the infamous Albanian traffickers. But the vibrancy of these places has ancient roots. The role as a port in trade between Lecce and Tyre and Alexandria has deeply shaped the character and architectural profile of this small town, which has just over five thousand inhabitants, and opens for tourists stone-paved streets, terraces overlooking the sea, glimpses of blue among white houses and flowered balconies, an imposing Aragonese castle, and a splendid cathedral in the Apulian Romanesque style.
A short walk also reveals rich craftsmanship, made of lace and bobbin lace, which adorn clothing and household linens: you can find beautiful pieces at L’Ago del Ricamo, at 41 Corso Garibaldi. And original ceramic items, like those at Art’è, on Via Lungomare Terra d’Otranto 17. When appetite calls, you can dine at Da Sergio, an institution right in the center, whose kitchen offers fresh fish caught locally, or at Acmet Pascià, with a beautiful terrace by the sea, the perfect place to enjoy swordfish carpaccio and sea urchin bavette. Exploring the coast from north to south, you can’t miss the sequence of ancient watchtowers, impressive and dramatic buildings constructed so that from one to another suspicious sightings could be signaled with fire.
And then there are the beaches, the bays, the dream locations, like Alimini, with its freshwater and saltwater lakes, Frassanito; Porto Badisco, which is said to have been the landing site of Aeneas; Santa Cesarea Terme, whose architecture clearly reflects Eastern influences. Castro with the limestone swirls of its cave, the Zinzulusa. Thus arriving at the “end of the earth,” at Capo di Santa Maria di Leuca. Beyond which there is only open sea, only Mediterranean, only blue.
