Towns in Salento
There are three administrative districts in Salento, namely Brindisi, Taranto and Lecce. The majority of towns we are covering here are in the district of Lecce and are situated to the south of Lecce. This is the most interesting area but towns like Brindisi and Ostuni further north are worth a visit.
Ostuni
No wonder its called the white city, in the past it was entirely painted with white lime.
Ostuni is popular among tourists, in 2005 the Puglia region recognized the municipality as a “tourist resort”.
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Brindisi
Center of the most populous part of Salento, in Puglia, the city plays an important commercial and cultural role, due to its fortunate position towards the East and its natural port, still existing, on the Adriatic Sea. It was the temporary seat of government in Italy from 1943 to 1944
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Lecce
Very popular touriste town in the centre of the Salento. City of art of Italy, it is known as “the Florence of the South”, “the Florence of the Rococo era” or “the Lady of the Baroque”
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Otranto
Located on the Adriatic coast and is the easternmost geographical point of the Italian peninsula. It is part of the club “The most beautiful villages in Italy”. At first Greek-Messapian and Roman center, then Byzantine and later Aragonese, with its imposing castle and the Norman cathedral.
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Castro
Located along the south eastern coast of the Salento peninsula, the municipality is formed from the main town of medieval origin, built around the port. Fishing and bathing center, it boasts ancient origins as heir of the Roman Castrum Minervae. It was one of the first cities of the Salento to be elevated to the rank of county; it was also a bishopric until 1818.
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Santa Maria di Leuca
Renowned tourist resort, in the southernmost part of Puglia. Famous for its 47 m high light house, second most important in Italy after Genoa.
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Specchia
Belongsof the club The most beautiful villages in Italy. In 2013 it received the recognition as “Jewel of Italy”. In 2007 the municipality was recognized as the best emerging rural destination of the Eden Project in Italy
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Ugento
The municipality of Ugento was recognized as a city of art and tourismby the Puglia Region in 2008 for its architectural, archaeological and environmental beauties.
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Gallipoli
Known as the pearl of the Ionian Sea, a bishop’s seat from the sixth century AD, is located along the western coast of Salento.
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Nardò
Initially an important Byzantine center and from 1497 it became the main cultural center of Salento, home to Universities, Academies and literary and philosophical studies.
The historic center of Nardò boasts an extraordinary wealth of palaces, churches, chapels and individual architectural details, making it one of the cities of the “Barocco Leccese”
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Porto Cesareo
Tourist resort of Salento located on the Ionian coast of the Salento peninsula, and is home to the Porto Cesareo protected marine natural area and the Palude del Conte and Dune Coast Regional Oriented Nature Reserve.
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Manduria
Located in the northern Salento, equidistant from Taranto, Lecce and Brindisi. From this springs the city motto “Salento has a Heart”. Manduria is also known as “Città dei Messapi” and “Vino Primitivo”.
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Taranto
The city is home to the Maritime Arsenal of the Navy, Ilva, one of the largest industrial complexes in Europe for the production of steel, and the National Archaeological Museum MArTA, which is among the most important museums in Italy.
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