What to see in Salve
Our journey to discover Salve begins with an unforgettable walk through the countryside among dry stone walls and pagghiare, the typical Salento constructions that farmers used to leave their tools and to live in with their families during summer. A stop at the chapel of Santu Lasi (San Biagio) to discover Byzantine frescoes and a majestic statue of the Saint in fine Lecce stone. And not far away, here is the white farmstead Santu Lasi, lime-painted, where with a very respectful restoration, peasant civilization comes back to life among rose gardens, dry stone walls, and succulent plants on stone hedges.
From Torre Pali to Posto Vecchio with the most famous Pescoluse it is a succession of emotions, where the sea with a thousand shades of blue combines with good food, archaeological testimonies of the countryside, and a medieval village where time seems to have stopped. But the greatest emotion will be given to you by the inhabitants of Salve for their sincere and refined hospitality.
Archaeological sites with the Salento train
In Salento you can discover the archaeological sites with the Salento Train. And to have a complete and competent guide on the territory, the ideal is to rely on the experts of the Arches Association. On the beaches, it will then be possible to follow sailing, windsurf, and kite surf courses thanks to Local Crew and Salento Wind Finder. And to enjoy the sea from dawn to dusk the choice is to stay on the beach all day thanks to the services offered by the lidos, real restaurants and lounge bars on the sea, such as Lido Ristorante La Cozza and Lido Venere in Posto Vecchio, which also offer live music for unforgettable evenings.
After being enchanted by the sea, onboard the Salento Train, you can leave for an excursion in the countryside of Salve, on the Ionian side of Salento. Few know that right next to the famous lido Le Maldive del Salento there is the most original dolmen in Puglia: made from an excavation in the rock, it is half embedded in the ground and half turns its typical altar slab of stone sacrifices towards the sky, facing west. Then climbing up the heights of Salve you reach a necropolis where you can admire the largest tumulus tomb among all those known: it covers 100 square meters and surely belonged to an important clan that flourished 2,500 years before Christ. Crossing the countryside you experience the emotion of entering a cave inhabited since Prehistory by the Neanderthal Man 70,000 years ago. It is the only prehistoric cave visitable in Salento and is located in Montani locality.
Salve, authentic village of Italy
The sun sets on the horizon, the countryside and the sea turn orange. It is time to return to Salve to explore the village of Salve. Having become part of the Authentic Villages of Italy, time seems to have stopped in Salve. The excursion starts from Borgo Terra, the medieval village where the streets intersect perfectly and where you will be surprised by the beauty of Palazzo Montano, a tower house from 1563, splendidly restored. Borgo Terra divides the two squares, one religious and the other political of the city. On the religious square overlook the Mother Church and Palazzo Ramirez, which, being municipal property, hosts the Tourist Information Office, the Library, and is used as a cultural container for large and small events.
In Palazzo Ramirez, thanks to the Youth Urban Laboratory, some young people have brought to life small big entrepreneurial ideas that restart tradition: Silvia Dongiovanni, after working in Milan and Paris in fashion, returned home, creating a fashion house with the brand Ground Ground that values organic fabrics and earth colors, Andrea De Simeis produces paper starting from natural fibers like prickly pear, fig, and mulberry. Melissa Calò of the Arches Association proposes fabrics on looms, strictly handmade and painted with natural colors.
The Mother Church, whose first construction dates back to the Middle Ages, has been rebuilt several times after being hit by the earthquake of 1743. In 1938 the vault collapsed. But the church rose again more beautiful than ever, among Baroque altars, eighteenth-century stuccoes, and paintings from the best painting schools. So much splendor is the expression of the rich landowner who had olive oil as his gold. In fact, not far from the church is the underground mill where the oil intended to light the streets and squares of all Europe, London first, was extracted. The people of Salento were the sheikhs of old. Hence the rich churches and noble palaces with elegant shapes and secret gardens.
The music of the oldest organ in Puglia, built in 1628 and arrived to us in its original structure, will fascinate you. In Salve, organ concerts are often organized to enhance this priceless treasure, kept in the mother church. Among the friezes stands out the bas-relief of a good priest, sanctified by the faithful: Alessandro Cardone who literally stripped off his clothes if he met a poor person on the street.
Wrapped in a metaphysical charm is the Shrine of Santa Marina, in the hamlet of Ruggiano. Its facade flames orange and red at sunset. We are on the pilgrimage route that stopped at Ruggiano and Leuca Piccola before reaching the shrine where the world ended (of Santa Maria de Finibus Terrae). Next to the Shrine is the well where pilgrims drew precious water and the guesthouse where they spent the night. The devotion to Santa Marina of Bithynia is linked to the Shrine, who protects the liver and, as in an ancestral cult, the local inhabitants invoked her when they saw the rainbow rise on the horizon.
In Salento, East and West blend harmoniously. It can be read in the polyhedral culture of the people of Salento, in the friezes of houses, and in the gaze of San Nicola, the Eastern Saint venerated also in Salve the fourth Sunday of May. His wooden statue has a peculiarity: the eyes are one blue and the other green, a symbol of East and West that in Salento have a single soul and blend harmoniously.
The Maldives of Salento
In Marine di Salve on the Ionian coast of Salento, just 15 kilometers from Santa Maria di Leuca and thirty from Gallipoli, there are the beaches Maldives of Italy. Journalists, opinion leaders, and travelers coined this name for this stretch of Salento beach, after appreciating the beauty of the places, the colors of the sea and sand, where the BLUE flag often flies.
Among the most prestigious covers, we remember the cover that last year MarcoPolo dedicated to these places, calling them the Maldives of Italy, with a stunning and sexy Laura Barriales topless against the backdrop of a bright blue and sparkling sea.
It all started from a business idea suggested by the customers themselves to the owner of a beach establishment who renamed his beach resort the Maldives of Salento.
The Caves of Leuca
To make sure you don’t miss anything, there is also the possibility to take a boat trip to discover the coast and the nearby caves of Leuca with Noleggio Nettuno and Escursioni Nemo. On the Ionian side, you will be amazed by the Grotta delle Tre Porte, symbol of all the caves of Leuca, the Devil’s Cave, the Love Cave which lights up red at sunset. On the Adriatic side, a visit to the Cathedral Cave with its bell-like clapper, the Blowing Cave and the Laghetto al Ciolo Cave, which houses a lake of icy water accessible only through a narrow tunnel and on foot, is not to be missed.
Where to sleep
Hotels, guesthouses, holiday homes where to sleep in Salento.
