Five days and four nights in the Salento, the heel of the Italian boot, without ever changing hotel: Baroque Lecce, Gallipoli and Galatina, Santa Maria di Leuca and the Zinzulusa sea cave, the Greek-speaking villages, then Copertino and Porto Cesareo.
On the map Italy is shaped like a boot, and the Salento is its heel. This tour covers it from end to end, from the Ionian coast to the cape of Leuca, with Lecce as its base: you set out every morning and come back to the same hotel every evening.
Length: 5 days and 4 nights, based in Lecce.
Day 1: discovering Lecce
The tour begins at the hotel in Lecce, a city that wins people over with its Baroque style. Known as the “Florence of the South”, it is famous for its churches and palazzi, the grand town houses, all built from the local stone. The day is given to the old town, starting from Piazza del Duomo, with the Bishop’s Palace and the bell tower. Next comes Piazza Sant’Oronzo, home to the Roman amphitheatre, the Palazzo del Sedile and the small church of San Marco dei Veneziani. No visit is complete without the church of Santa Croce, the symbol of Lecce’s Baroque. The evening ends with check-in at the hotel, dinner and the night.
Day 2: Gallipoli and Galatina
After breakfast the tour leaves for Gallipoli, where a guided tour reveals the secrets of this lovely town on the Ionian Sea. Lunch is at a local restaurant, and in the afternoon you visit Galatina, famous for the church of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria. The visit also covers the old town, the mother church of Saints Peter and Paul and the chapel of the tarantati, the people once believed to have been bitten by the tarantula, linked to the old rites of tarantism. Back to Lecce for dinner and the night.
Day 3: Santa Maria di Leuca and Castro
The third day goes to Santa Maria di Leuca, the southernmost point of the Salento. Here you visit the sanctuary of the Madonna de Finibus Terrae, Latin for “at the end of the land”, the monumental waterfall and the Italian Navy lighthouse. The tour then follows the coast road north, with a stop in Castro for lunch. In the afternoon, a visit to the splendid Zinzulusa sea cave. Back to Lecce in the evening for dinner and the night.
Day 4: the Grecìa Salentina and Specchia
After breakfast the tour heads into the Grecìa Salentina, a small cluster of villages where a dialect of Greek origin is still spoken. You visit the pretty villages of Soleto, Corigliano d’Otranto and Sternatia, known for their traditions and the beauty of their setting; our article on Griko and the Grecìa Salentina tells their story. After lunch, the afternoon is spent in the village of Specchia, listed among the Borghi più belli d’Italia, the association of Italy’s most beautiful villages. Back to Lecce for dinner and the night.
Day 5: Copertino and Porto Cesareo
After breakfast the tour leaves for Copertino, an important town of the Salento. Here you visit the Angevin castle, built under the French Anjou dynasty, the old Jewish quarter and the Sanctuary of San Giuseppe da Copertino. After lunch the tour continues to Porto Cesareo, known for its natural beauty and its history as a fishing village. Return to Lecce, where the tour ends.
More tours. This route is one of our multi-day itineraries in Puglia, from the Gargano down to the Salento.
