An itinerary that follows the140 km of coast with unique changing landscapes, from the golden sand beaches to the sea eroded rocks. A kind and proper plain that seems be drawn by the men's indefatigable works of cultivation with chromatic color s. A pleasant hill with not so tall tops and full of rocky settlings. And, furthermore, carsick caves, lush woods, faunal oasis. This is the unique geographical frame where history has developed palaces, churches, squares and castles.
The sea is the first important feature of this land. The inhabitants have its colours, sounds and perfumes in their minds, and they cannot forget them wherever they are. It is such a fair sea disease that belongs only to people of the south or to the tourists of this land, who do not manage to stay away without it for so much time. Even though there are many settlements along the coast, there are some free views of the pure and, somewhere really waste, Ionian Sea . It is possible to reach some important beaches above all on the west coast, where there are many tourist structures in famous places like Lido Azzurro , Chiatona , Riva dei Tessali (where there also is a famous golf field), Ginosa Marina and Castellaneta Marina . Here there is an alternation of long lonely low beaches, that on the back have blooming Aleppo 's pines. The odours of the pine woods hide the humid areas where it is possible to find a rich avifauna and some special species of plants. One of these is the lago Salinella that is considered a very suitable area for the birdwatching as it is between the mouth of Bradano river and the Galaso stream. On the east coast the landscape is totally different. There are rocks that have been carved by the sea patiently over the centuries and, among them, there are precious sand creeks. The landscape reminds the ancient landings thanks to the bastions, symbols of the Mediterranean wild nature, and the rocky walls, that are all around the few big crystalline bays. It is often possible to encounter ruins of old civilizations that can make remind of the ancient myths. Among the beaches of Lido Bruno , Gandoli , Saturo , Porto Pirrone , Montedarena and Lido Silvana - organized in suitable sea and sportive structures, hotels and caravan parks - there are long expanses of low rocks that peep through also rocky platform with few centimetres of water and a thick layer of seaweeds. A little bit far away in the sea, also without any masks or flippers, you can dive in an uncontaminated world still opened to discovers, as only very seldom you can still do in the other seabeds of the country. This seabed is rich in sea urchins, starfishes, octopuses, thorny scorpion fishes and typical fishes while, among the rocks recovered by marine plants, there are a lot of white sea breams and striped breams. It is noticeable the density of the fauna in so a little distance from the coast and over the seabed of not more of four or five meters of depth. It seems to being watching a documentary about the South Seas, instead it is the reality of the warm Ionian Sea , coloured by the windsurfs and yachts. Going ahead through Lizzano , Torricella , Maruggio and Avetrana , the coast is represented by wider beaches with tall sand dunes and rocks among the flourishing Mediterranean bushes that is a mixture of capers, rosemary and thyme odours. Here nature becomes wilder and there are some views from the coast of Salento , and the rocky hinterland, that allow to see the different shades of the sea. During spring it is already possible to see how the dazzling brightness of the South makes everything shine, as no postcards could manage to show, thanks to the always warm weather of the Ionian lands.
The burnish colours - red, ochre, deep green with yellow veins - stand out against the homogenous and almost golden background of the countryside full of hills, in contrast with the dull greyness of the limestones, and the absolute shining white of the farmhouses and little towns that lye on the sunning slopes or higher tops. The recalls of the sea are always present and often it is possible to make it out with its deep blue colours.
Wandering among the ravines of the wooden Murgia (its name reminds of the rock, the stone) you can imagine to go back into the past, in a almost unreal background. This impression is due to the landscape that, here, joins with the memories of the most remote ages of the world, when the everyday life was carried out among caves full of relieves, the strong colours and odours of a thick flora still untouched. The rocky caves have been left by their last inhabitants only a few time ago. At the end of the last century they were still organized into real cave-dwelling villages. The rigours of this land means hard work but, in the meanwhile, it represents tenaciousness and pride in the results: even though there is a certain lack of water resources - typical feature of the region that was called Apulia siticulosa (thirsty Puglia) by the Latin poet Orazio - the fields of the province are cultivated by experts labours who have managed to make fertile the different cultivations that extend till the coast. The calcareous origin of the underground, rich in splendid caves decorated by secular concretions, makes it absorb the rain - usually intensive in small period of the year - until the bottom creating, as a consequence, phenomena of erosion such as ravines, dolines and caves: a scenery that is motionless only in appearance.
Even the closed and independent courts rich in lonely and imposing farmhouses, artistically important, are well furnished in order to carry the hard work of agriculture and farming. There are many typical spontaneous buildings of the area such as the famous trulli : perhaps Mycenaen (XV- XIX century) original white walls cone buildings with a grey stone covering. They are very diffused in the local countryside and, above all, in the Valle d'Itria ( Valley of Itria ) of Martina Franca and in the territory of Crispiano (called, for this reason, "of hundred farmhouses"), Statte , Montemesola , Massafra , Mottola , Martina Franca, Palaggianello, Castellaneta, Laterza and Ginosa . These are the towns with the higher presence of enchanting rocky settlings. The smart farmhouses of "San Domenico" and " La Mortella " in Crispiano, "Il Porticello" in Mottola or "Il Vignaletto" in Martina Franca are examples of hospitable holiday firms, where you can directly taste the typical agricultural products. The quite nice air of the area, the historical monuments, the fast changes of the landscapes and the close sea are the source of different possible itineraries in the Ionian province for a non conventional tourism. The join of art, history, traditions and environment, is sometimes incredible because of the little attention paid to it by the most famous tourists. But, surely, this is one of the qualities of this land!
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