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Peculiar landscape elements

Peculiar landscape elements

The “coastal towers” in Salento: some of the most enchanting seaside attractions in Southern Italy.

Have you ever seen the enchanting coasts of Salento?
You must certainly have noticed a strong and costant presence of coastal towers.
They are beautiful and interesting and they prove that the past of this land was characterized by conflict.
In fact, the towers were used to keep an eye on the sea and provide protection against the attacks carried out by the Saracens: in case of danger, light signals were sent out from tower to tower and then to the inland towns to give the alarm.

If you are going to spend your holidays in Salento, don’t miss the opportunity to see these peculiar attractions! There are also towers near our hotel that you can reach easily.

For example, Torre Capo Lupo, in Marittima (a suburb of Diso, in the province of Lecce). It is one of the oldest towers and dates back to the 15th century. Its name is a homage to the corporal who lived inside it. The tower has a cylindrical shape and was restored in 1986. It is situated within the enchanting regional nature park of “Costa Otranto – Santa Maria di Leuca e bosco di Tricase”.

Still within this park, in the territory of Tricase, you can admire Torre del Sasso and Torre Palane, both with a square plan and both having embrasures and trapdoors.

In Santa Maria di Leuca, you can observe the Torre dell’Uomo Morto (“the Tower of the Dead Man”), built in 1555 along the seafront at the behest of Andrea Gonzaga, count of Alessano. The name was decided after human bones were found inside the tower. The lower part of the tower has the shape of a truncated cone, while the upper part is cylindrical and crenelated, because it was used by artillerymen.
In the 17th century the tower was abandoned because the upper part partially crumbled. Still today, no restoration project has been planned. However, it is exactly this air of decay that makes the tower even more enchanting and surreal.

Salento can leave visitors speechless in many ways…
We would be happy to welcome you in our hotel surrounded by the unspoiled nature of Salento, near the main attractions!

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