| Santa Maria di Leuca | ||
 | ||
| State | Italy | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Puglia | |
| Territory | Salento | |
| Inhabitants | 1.263 (2011) | |
| Prefix tel | 39 0833 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 73040 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
| Patron | Maria S. di Leuca | |
Position
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Santa Maria di Leuca (Leviche in Salento dialect) is a fraction of 1,263 inhabitants of the municipality of Castrignano del Capo, in province of Lecce. Renowned tourist resort, it is the southernmost inhabited center of the entire province.
To know
Geographical notes
For Santa Maria di Leuca the area above the promontory on which the Basilica and the lighthouse are located (which with its height of 48.60 meters and its location 102 meters above sea level is one of the most important in Italy) , while the Marina di Leuca is located further down and is between Punta Mèliso to the east, located at the foot of the promontory, e Punta Ristola to the west, the extreme southern edge of Salento.
Although the extreme heel of Italy can be identified with Punta Ristola, Punta Mèliso (probably due to the importance it derives from the lighthouse above) conventionally closes, together with Point Alice in Calabria, the Gulf of Taranto.
Also at Punta Mèliso is placed, according to a nautical convention, the point of separation between the Adriatic coast (to the east) and the Ionian coast (to the west). However, these are convenient simplifications which provide, as the dividing line between the waters of the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea, a certain parallel: in this case the parallel 39 ° 47'N (which passes off the coast of Punta Mèliso), but another nautical convention, for example, uses the parallel 40 ° N.
But, beyond the conventions, the fact that from Santa Maria di Leuca is sometimes visible, under certain conditions, a longitudinal separation line, clearly distinguishable chromatically (actually due to the meeting between the currents coming from the Gulf of Taranto and those from the Canale d'Otranto), has always suggested a boundary to the popular imagination physical between the two seas.
Since October 2006 the territory of Santa Maria di Leuca falls within the Costa Otranto Park - Santa Maria di Leuca and Bosco di Tricase established by the Region Puglia in order to safeguard the east coast of Salento, rich in valuable architectural heritage and important animal and plant species.
When to go
The climate is temperate Mediterranean, even more mitigated by the presence of the sea. Winters are cool and quite rainy, the average daily temperatures in January and February remain around 10 ° C, with average minimums of 7/8 ° C and maximums between 12 and 13 ° C. Frosts are possible but they are very sporadic and almost always of light intensity, snowfalls are completely unusual and generally free of accumulations. In summer, the temperature increases significantly until it reaches average values of 24/25 ° C between July and August, with average minimums of about 20 ° C and maximums of 28/29 ° C, often combined with medium / high humidity levels that they can cause mild heat conditions, almost always tempered by daytime breezes. Higher temperatures, up to 34/35 ° C and sometimes higher, are possible on the occasion of strong heat waves which, when combined with sirocco winds, lead to intense heat conditions. The climate of Leuca is however breezy, pleasant, with low rainfall and almost always clear skies for most of the summer. In winter it is almost deserted, in summer it is quite busy.
Background
A famous legend tells that Santa Maria di Leuca (or maybe Porto Badisco, but more likely Castro) would have been the first landing of Aeneas, later he would have landed here Saint Peter, which, arrived from Palestine, began his work of evangelization, and then came to Rome. The passage of St. Peter is also celebrated by the Corinthian column of 1694 erected on the square of the Basilica, recently renovated.
How to orient yourself
Santa Maria di Leuca: full screen map.- Promontory on which the Basilica and the lighthouse are located
- Punta Mèliso east end (under the promontory)
- Marina di Leuca is located between the two tips, the Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo is the main street.
- Punta Ristola west end
How to get
By plane
1 Salento Airport (BDS), Contrada Baroncino, 72100 Brindisi (BR). International airport about 120 km from Santa Maria di Leuca.
By car
It is 87 km from Lecce, if you reach it via the 
which continues in 
, or 73 km along the 
of Santa Maria di Leuca which continues in 
.
On the train
The city is not served by the railway, the closest station is the Gagliano Leuca station located at Gagliano del Capo on the lines Shirts-Gagliano del Capo is Casarano-Gagliano del Capo of the Ferrovie del Sud Est. [[Lecce station is the closest (about 70 km) among those that make national service with Trenitalia, from this you can get to Gagliano del Capo by train with the FSE or by bus.
2 Gagliano Leuca station. ESF station of Gagliano del Capo about 6 km from Santa Maria di Leuca. 
- 3 Lecce station. Trenitalia and FSE station about 70 km from Santa Maria di Leuca
How to get around
What see
- Just outside Punta Ristola, 85 meters below sea level, lies the hull of the submarine Italian oceanic Pietro Micca, sunk during the second World War with its crew of 58 sailors.
- 1 Staircase and Monumental waterfall. A staircase of 296 steps connects the Basilica to the underlying port, framing the monumental waterfall of theApulian aqueduct which, ending in Leuca, flows into the sea.
Churches
- 2 Basilica of Santa Maria de finibus terrae. It is said that St. Peter on his way to Rome made a stop in Leuca and since then the temple dedicated to the goddess Minerva, located on the Japigean promontory, became a place of Christian worship and one of the main pilgrimage centers of the ancient and medieval age. The devotion of the faithful to the Madonna di Leuca has ancient origins: there is talk of a great miracle that would have saved the fishermen on April 13, 365 from a storm. The current fortified structure of the church was built between 1720 and 1755 by Monsignor Giovanni Giannelli, to resist the numerous and repeated attacks by Turkish and Saracen invaders.
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- Church of Cristo Re. It is located in the center of the marina of Leuca. Construction work began in 1896 on a project by the engineer Pasquale Ruggeri. However, the opening to the faithful and to the public took place only 40 years later in 1935. Made in carparo, it is in Romanesque and Gothic style. The interior is divided into three naves. The mosaic floor, completed in 1934, and the rose window on the main facade are very beautiful. The large windows of the side aisles bear the names and coats of arms of the noble families who participated in the construction of the church.
Nineteenth-century villas
Leuca is a tourist resort famous above all for the nineteenth-century villas, built according to various styles for the most part by the architects Ruggeri and Rossi. Towards the end of nineteenth century precisely 43 villas were counted, many of which today are in disuse or appear profoundly transformed compared to the past.
In fact, during the Second World War, the metallic decorative elements (balustrades, railings, etc.) necessary for the production of weapons were removed from many villas; moreover, in the same period almost all the villas were requisitioned from the owners and used for the reception of displaced persons. Some suffered serious damage and, at the end of the war, were restructured in such a radical way that they were often ruined. Other villas have gone into disuse, while only a few still retain their original appearance, both external and internal.
- 3 Villa Daniele.
- 4 Villa Gioacchino Fuortes, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo 53. headquarters of the local Pro Loco
- 5 Villa Mellacqua.
- 6 Villa La Meridiana (formerly Villa Ruggeri), Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo 61. Hotel
- 7 Villa Tamborino-Cezzi.
- Villa Loreta Stefanachi.
- 8 Villa Episcopo.
- Villa Colosso.
- 9 Villa Arditi.
- Villa De Francesco.
- Villa Seracca.
- 10 Villa Ramirez-De Castro.
- 11 Villa Maruccia (formerly Villa Sangiovanni), Via Cavaliere Tommaso Fuortes 17.
Towers
- 12 Tower of the Omomorto (Tower of the Dead Man). One of the hundreds of towers that are found on a regular basis along the entire Salento coast. In addition to being defense elements, these towers were mainly used to sight the possible presence and approach of the ships of the Turks, which for a long time invaded Otranto and other areas of the Salento peninsula, and to give the alarm towards the hinterland through light signals that were immediately transmitted from one tower to the next.
- 13 The Leuca lighthouse. The lighthouse of Santa Maria di Leuca is located on Punta Meliso. It was designed by the engineer Achille Rossi on commission from the Civil Engineers, with a fixed light machine changed to 30cm splendors in 30 seconds. It was first activated on September 6, 1866. It is 48.60m high from the base and is 102m above sea level. It emits three beams of light that are visible, in particular weather conditions, over 40 km. With a spiral staircase of 254 steps you can go up to the cage of the projection apparatus.
Caves
- 14 Devil's Cave. The cave "del Diavolo" is located on Punta Ristola, measures forty meters in length and seventeen in width and leads directly to the sea. In 1871, Ulderico Botti carried out the first excavations, finding interesting and unique finds, represented by bones, valves, weapons and tools, which suggest a frequentation of the cave since the Neolithic. These finds are now preserved in the museums of Lecce and Maglie. Its name derives from an ancient popular superstition, which attributed to the presence of Devils the gloomy and powerful rumble that could be heard in the cave which, among other things, is accessible by land through an opening on its back. .
- 15 Porcinara cave (Portinaia cave), via Toma G (From via Toma G. go down the stairs). Near Punta Ristola there is the so-called 'Porcinara' or 'Portinaia' cave, of considerable historical importance, as archaeologists in the area have found a double wall structure, the eschera. It is located about 20 meters above sea level, and its name seems to be due to a deformation of the name 'Portinara', which perhaps refers to its location near the port. The cave was excavated in three rooms, inscriptions on Jupiter are engraved on the walls and the names of ships and mythological characters such as Madaraus, Rhedon, Aphrodite can be read.
Events and parties
- Feast of the Madonna of Santa Maria di Leuca.
August 15. Patronal feast - Villas in celebration. One Sunday in May. Event in which the nineteenth-century villas are open to the public and their historical and architectural characteristics are illustrated to visitors.
August 15. Patronal feastWhat to do
- Excursion among the various caves on the coast.
- Solsalento, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo (Pier H), ☎ 39 329 6186060, @[email protected].
From 10 € / pax. Excursions to the caves of Leuca. - Admire the collision line between the currents coming from the Gulf of Taranto and those from the Canale d'Otranto.
- Tourist Port Marina di Leuca, Colombo promenade 26, ☎ 39 0833 758687.
From 10 € / pax. Excursions to the caves of Leuca.Shopping
- Most of the shops are located on the Cristoforo Colombo seafront.
How to have fun
- Gibò, Santa Maria di Leuca Otranto coast road, 5 km (TO Gagliano del Capo, Ciolo locality). Luxury nightclub overlooking the sea.
Where to eat
Where stay
Safety
How to keep in touch
Keep informed
- Proloco Santa Maria di Leuca. Proloco site, useful for knowing the events.
Around
- Canalone del Ciolo you meet shortly after going east, it is a deep gorge produced by the erosive action of water on its way to the sea. The name derives from the magpies, called Giole or Ciole in the Salento dialect, which inhabited the canal. It looks like a deep canyon, bordered by high and steep limestone walls rich in caves, which borders a small pebble beach and a narrow inlet. The high rocky ridge is covered by the evergreen vegetation of the Mediterranean scrub and native plants such as the Leuca cornflower and some species of wild orchids. On the ridges of the gully there is the presence of numerous caves, protagonists of fossil and ceramic findings dating back to the Neolithic and Paleolithic periods. The Grotta delle Prazziche, 42 meters long and about 6 meters wide, is an example of this. In it, numerous discoveries have brought to light pieces of pottery, artifacts from the lithic period and remains of fauna including rhinos.
Itineraries
- Coastal towers of Salento
- Coastal caves of Salento
Cycle route of the Apulian Aqueduct is the cycle path that starts from Caposele and ends at Santa Maria di Leuca.- Adriatic Green Corridor is the cycle path that runs along the Adriatic coast. It has a length of 1300 km and connects Trieste with Santa Maria di Leuca, along the Italian Riviera with the richest beaches dedicated to seaside tourism.
Other projects
Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Santa Maria di Leuca
Commons contains images or other files on Santa Maria di Leuca
