Salento

Salento (Salentu in local dialect) is the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the main Italian peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot". It encompasses the administrative areas of Brindisi, Lecce and Taranto provinces. The peninsula is also known as Terra d'Otranto, and in ancient times was called variously Messapia, Calabria, and Salentina.

Geographic perspective

Salento peninsula is a rock of limestone dividing the Adriatic Sea from the Ionian Sea. Known also as "peninsula salentina," from a geo-morphologic point of view it encompasses the land borders between Ionian sea and the Adriatic sea to the “messapic threshold”, a depression that runs along the Taranto-Ostuni line and separates it from the Murge. Its borders are:

Taranto, in the omonimous province;
Pilone, in the territory of Ostuni (province of Brindisi),
Santa Maria di Leuca, in province of Lecce.

Culture

Salento, from a cultural and linguistic point of view, does not include the city of Taranto (where the tarantino dialect is spoken), nor the rest of Taranto province to the west of the city (where pugliese -apulian is the dialect generally spoken), nor the rest of the province of Brindisi to north of Ostuni (where the accent is influenced by the dialect of Bari). Beside these borders, the language can be defined generally as “pugliese” (apulian), pertaining to “the southern” tipology. To the south and east, the Griko and Salentin dialect are spoken, pertaining to the “extreme” southern tipology and more similar to the Sicilian or Calabrian languages.

Tourism

A number of places, the coasts above all, are remarkable landscapes and environments, among them the Alimini Lakes, on the Adriatic coast, and Porto Selvaggio, on the Ionic coast. The soil is very fertile, some of the finest olive trees and grapes grow here, and their products are exported worldwide. Its coasts are varied, and can be sandy or rocky, but all boast pristine beaches and crystal-clear waters. Some of the most renowned locations in Salento for summer holidays (from May/June to September) are: Ostuni, Oria, Ugento, Manduria, Porto Cesareo, Gallipoli, Torre dell'Orso, Otranto, Santa Maria di Leuca.

Salento is a peaceful land full of history and traditions whose strong points are its natural and architectural beauties, its hospitality, its magic atmosphere, its several wonders to discover, its warm sun, its blue sky, its crystal sea and its dreamlike coast.

How to get there

By air: the nearest international airports are: Brindisi and Bari (this is out of Salento but not so far). No direct flight from the US (yet).
By road: there is a good 2-lanes freeway from Bari, all the way to the end of the heel-of-the-boot.
By train: main railway line ends at Lecce. Other locations are served by regional rail.
By sea: excellent leisure ports in: Taranto, Brindisi, Gallipoli, Santa Maria di Leuca, Otranto.