A journey amid the wonders of spring
Close your eyes and think of Salento and blue sky and blue sea will certainly spring to mind, along with the whiteness of the sand and the houses and the lush green of the trees. But today we’re going to show you ‘la vie en rose’ – a world through rose-tinted glasses – a ‘world’ that extends all the way from Otranto inland to Leuca.
When winter gives way to sunshine, to the rebirth of nature, in our part of the world there are two unmistakeable signs that summer is on its way: flowers and flamingos.
Salento, with its many humid areas and saline marshes, is an obligatory staging post for flamingos migrating from Northern Europe to overwinter on the Mediterranean. These splendid birds mainly arrive between March and April and they turn everything pink, for example the nature reserve at Torre Guaceto or the salt marshes at Torre Colimena.
With their characteristic long necks and one leg held up out of the water they seem almost like something from a dream – a pink cloud of grace and elegance. If these birds choose Salento it is for its clean seas and for the care dedicated to preserving their natural habitat. Indeed, a great deal of effort has been made in the last few years to entice flamingos back to Salento, and the hard work has, indeed, paid off.
Spring is all about flowers and here there’s no shortage of different shades of pink: the almond with its hues that go from white through to hot pink, mixing with the delicate pink tints of cherry blossom. Salento’s flowers, so delicate and fragile, are a constant reminder not only of the rebirth of nature, but also seem to point to man’s own fragility and beauty.
Moving towards the Adriatic coast it’s the vibrant pinks of the peach and apricot trees that hold sway. Either all pink, or with pink sprinkled along the edges of their petals, or the other way around, darker in the centre and lighter towards the edge, in this riot of flowers hundreds of different species of insects frolic and gorge. Every spring their visitations in time lead to the harvest of all the irresistible Mediterranean nuts and fruit: almonds, cherries (of lots of different varieties), peaches, nectarines, percoca peaches and apricots. Gorgeous-, bright-coloured fruit from such delicate flowers. Just naming them makes us think of summer, doesn’t it?
Pinks of every shade tint the landscape all the way to Serre Salentine, where the olive tree becomes the dominant force. So, then, how can you miss a visit to Taviano, the San Remo of the Salento region, which has been growing flowers since the 1850s – in its greenhouses edging the coastline. Roses, gladioli, birds of paradise and many other splendid plants await your delight.