Not really knowing what to expect of this geographically unique Italian town, we decided to stay an additional day so that we could explore the area more completely. In the end, we did find its size very approachable and its beauty is undeniable. It also turned out to be a national holiday - All Saints' Day today, but it was not at all busy.
From the web, ¨ in Italy, we celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, on November 1st and November 2nd respectively. All Saints’ Day, Ognissanti in Italian, is the feast of all the Saints of the Catholic calendar and it is a public holiday, exactly like Christmas or Easter. We do not work nor go to school on that day.¨
Pat organized a walking tour for us that included two highlights of Leuca. First was a walk along the waterfront and a climb up to Punta Meliso where the Leuca lighthouse is located. Next was a walk across town to Punta Ristola, the southernmost point of Salento . These two opposing rock points (puntas) enclose the bay of Santa Maria di Leuca. We are in the area that the ancient Romans called "de finibus terrae". Simply, the end of the earth.
A nice tile picture on a building depicting Santa Maria di Leuca.
This is a roman column that was placed at the bottom of a manmade waterfall located at the end of an Apulian aqueduct. The water only runs sporadically during the summer months.
Looking closer at the waterfall there are 300 steps on each side that you can walk to the lighthouse of Leuca. It was quite a construction project, completed in 1939 by the Mussolini government.
Our first destination - Leuca`s iconic lighthouse. With its height of 47 metres, and position at 102 metres above sea level, it is the second most important lighthouse in Italy, after Genova.
We laughed at this sign near our home. We were not really sure what the warning was all about. We certainly did not see anything even remotely resembling a traffic jam!
After our hike we had lunch at a beachfront restaurant and returned to the same area to have pizza for dinner. We enjoyed our day of exploring Leuca, walking about 17K steps, tomorrow we begin heading north to Gallipoli.
