Leuca Apulia 02
The road into the city; If Puglia is the heel of the Italian boot then Leuca is the nail holding it on. Santa Maria di Leuca is the southernmost point in Salento, striking the visitor’s eye for its colors and unreal silence. At the center of it all is the Church, the original Santa Maria: first a sanctuary, today it is the Basilica of Santa Maria De finibus terrae (at the ends of the earth). Also standing on this promontory with Santa Maria di Leuca is the famous lighthouse (157 ft tall, standing at 335 ft above sea level), while Marina di Leuca is situated further below, made up of Punta Mèliso to the east (at the feet of the promontory) and Punta Ristola in the west.
Leuca, approximately 43.5 mi from Lecce, is within the zone known as Salento, which it exhibits fully via its perfumes, sounds and colors. The sounds of the Taranta, the smell of tomatoes, olive oil and oregano that top the typical frise (or friselle), and the blue hues of sky and water that, from the promontory, bleed into one. The summation is a singular experience for any visitor venturing to Leuca, that is, to “the ends of the earth.”
Leuca Apulia 02
The road into the city; If Puglia is the heel of the Italian boot then Leuca is the nail holding it on. Santa Maria di Leuca is the southernmost point in Salento, striking the visitor’s eye for its colors and unreal silence. At the center of it all is the Church, the original Santa Maria: first a sanctuary, today it is the Basilica of Santa Maria De finibus terrae (at the ends of the earth). Also standing on this promontory with Santa Maria di Leuca is the famous lighthouse (157 ft tall, standing at 335 ft above sea level), while Marina di Leuca is situated further below, made up of Punta Mèliso to the east (at the feet of the promontory) and Punta Ristola in the west.
Leuca, approximately 43.5 mi from Lecce, is within the zone known as Salento, which it exhibits fully via its perfumes, sounds and colors. The sounds of the Taranta, the smell of tomatoes, olive oil and oregano that top the typical frise (or friselle), and the blue hues of sky and water that, from the promontory, bleed into one. The summation is a singular experience for any visitor venturing to Leuca, that is, to “the ends of the earth.”