Torre dell'Orso (1)
The bay on the Adriatic Sea
Torre dell'Orso, with its fine pearl-colored sand, its crystal-clear sea and the two majestic stacks of the "Due Sorelle," is a must for anyone wishing to experience and discover the extraordinary natural beauty of Salento.
Located in the municipality of Melendugno, Torre dell'Orso represents one of the most important tourist and seaside resorts on the Lecce coast, which attracts thousands of tourists every summer, enchanted by the splendor of its beaches. Its location, in fact, places it in a strategic point that allows it to intercept the currents of the Strait of Otranto, ensuring, therefore, water that is always clear and clean.
The name of the locality is linked to the presence of an ancient tower, dating back to the 16th century, used to protect against the arrival of possible Turkish enemy ships. The entire bay of Torre dell'Orso stretches for about 800 meters and is bordered at its extremes by two high rock formations called Due Sorelle, hence the name “Due Sorelle beach.”
The presence of new structures, however, is combined with respect for the small historic center that continues to express its evocative charm. It is possible to admire, just outside the town, the old nineteenth-century farmhouses and typical courtyard house structures.
Just 2 km away is one of the most beautiful natural pools in the world, the Grotta della Poesia (Cave of Poetry), which attracts thousands of tourists every year. A place of rare beauty, the cave features a rocky cliff overlooking the crystal-clear waters, which allows a magnificent view of the neighboring archaeological excavations. Torre dell'Orso is, moreover, not far from both Lecce and Otranto; thanks to its location, it is perfect for combining the tranquility of a seaside stay with the possibility of discovering the cultural, artistic and historical heritage of the splendid Salento land.
Torre dell'Orso is the ideal place to spend your vacation in full relaxation thanks to the many restaurants where you can taste the typical dishes of Salento culture, the large amusement park inside the marina, suitable for all ages, and the services that the destination can offer. It will be impossible, in fact, not to be totally enraptured by the beauty of the coastal landscape, the sea and the traditions and legends that make your stay even more intriguing and full of mystery.
State Nature Reserve: LE CESINE (Guided Tour)
The WWF Oasis Le Cesine State Nature Reserve can be visited all year round. Entry is regulated by the Ministerial Decree of establishment of the Reserve; "access is permitted only for study and educational purposes previous to accompaniment by authorized personnel."
Guided tours take place every Sunday and public holiday at set times that vary depending on the time of year:
- From October 1 to April 30, 10:30 a.m.
- From May 1 to September 30, 4:30 p.m.
On weekdays, visits are held according to the seasonal program that can be consulted on this site in the news section, and reservation is required by 12:00 p.m. (twelve) of the previous day. The visit is held for a minimum number of participants.
The guided tour "the secret of the Reserve" is an experience inside the area to consider its main habitats (forest, maquis, marshes) and appreciate the conservation work resulting from 30 years of management by WWF. The duration of the guided tour is about two hours.
It is also possible to visit the Reserve by bicycle. The duration of the visit is about 2 1/2 hours, reservation is required at least two days in advance and a minimum number of participants.
All proposed activities are subject to cancellation; feasibility is subject to weather conditions, trail walkability, and preservation and conservation issues.
Information on costs, minimum number of participants, and reservations at 329.8315714 (from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.) or email: lecesine@wwf.it
Welcome to Trekking Salento
SUNDAY TREKKING, NATURALISTIC, CULTURAL and SPIRITUAL ITINERARIES.
DO YOU WANT TO DEEPLY KNOW SALENTO?
Would you like to get together with friends, meet lots of new people and together breathe clean air, socialize and at the same time and in the utmost simplicity, do that healthy and natural physical exercise proper to every living creature?
STS - SpeleoTrekkingSalento
Hiking-cultural association in Lecce - nonprofit, founded on January 1, 1997 by Riccardo Rella, together with Antonio Perulli and Antonio Adamo, after two decades of underground exploration (1975/1995) and speleological activity in Salento karst environments in search of origins.
It was precisely the speleological experience and knowledge of the Territory that prompted Rella to start, first in Salento, the activity of trekking in order to bring to the knowledge of the Salentini, in the simplest and most natural way, that is, with slow movement, the landscape peculiarities that characterize the region.
Hence, all on the road, sharing that healthy movement, free of contraindications, in its simple, fluid, sportsmanship, for the purpose of mental and physical well-being, knowledge and socialization!
With the collaboration of Prof. Rita De Matteis, who joined in 1998, the Association has taken on a more purely cultural slant, with news and insights about the history of the testimonies, around which about 150 trekking circuits currently appear to have been built.
The result of research and hiking experience is the reconstruction of the "Path to Leuca," the historic route taken by pilgrims heading to Terrasanta, or precisely to the perdonanza at the Madonna Maris Stellae, whose Sanctuary, which rises on Punta Meliso, Italy's extreme southern promontory, in a spectacular landscape setting, is believed to have been built by St. Peter himself in 43 A.D., on the ruins of an earlier temple dedicated to Minerva.
SpeleoTrekkingSalento organizes two events each year:
- "Il Cammino per Leuca" (the Path for Leuca, to be revived in 2016 for the 13th edition) is a 140-kilometer walk, in six days, from Brindisi to S. Maria de Finibus Terrae, the natural and spiritual convergence of the European Vie Francigene, on olive grove paths, in some stretches scenic, with moments of pause and prayer in the evocative country chapels, entirely frescoed, dedicated to Virgin Mary; the last stage of this exciting "iter fidei" will be carried out on the first Sunday of May to coincide with the “Giornata nazionale della Rete dei Cammini” (National Day of the Network of the Paths).
- “La Transalentina del Sole” (The Transalentine of the Sun), a 50-kilometer walk, in a single day from morning to sunset, following the path of the Sun, from Otranto, the easternmost city in Italy, to Gallipoli, once a favored oil embarkation port for all of northern Europe. This route is called the “Ponte della fratellanza” (Bridge of Brotherhood), as it unites in an embrace two port cities once united in the struggle against invaders.
The pride of the Association and of Rella, in particular, who is its president, is to have contributed with the word of mouth of thousands of members, who over the past twenty years have taken part in the hiking activity, to make known the most remote recesses of this magical Salento Land, at the time almost literally unknown, with positive implications on tourism and on the enhancement of our artistic preciousness.
Riccardo Rella and Rita De Matteis, in collaboration with the Association, published in 2015 the book-guide "Trekking in Salento," published by Casa Editrice Botanica Ornamentale di Maglie (Botanica Ornamentale Publishing House in Maglie, www.mauriziocezzi.it - cell. 337/937841) containing twenty-one hiking routes, structured as a ring, accompanied by technical notes, images of satellite tracks with relevant points of interest, detailed descriptions, cultural explanations and a rich photographic apparatus compiled by Prof. Ezio Sarcinella, a well-deserving member of SpeleoTrekkingSalento, author also of the text "La Via dei Pellegrini," a valuable document of the first three editions of the "Path to Leuca" printed by Editrice Salentina. (For contact: Ezio Sarcinella cell. 328/6655489). The text includes photographic documentation produced by the author and valuable graphics, reproductions of original plates by Prof. Marisa Grande.
STS - SpeleoTrekkingSalento
With SpeleoTrekkingSalento itineraries outside the province, canyoning, caving, cultural evenings, interventions in schools, respect for everything and lots of good humor. We started Trekking in Salento to spend Sundays happily together, in complete relaxation, rurality, scent of bush, harmony and simplicity.
STS - SpeleoTrekkingSalento
An open gym in the magical admiration and beauty of the land, in total respect for creation; everything you need to forget, for a while, your daily problems, to live well with yourself and others.
All info at: www.trekkingsalento.com
Torre dell'Orso pine forest
Interesting place among our naturalistic sites is the so-called SCI of Torre dell'Orso, the subject of enhancement and management projects by the Ve.Ro.Blu Alba Mediterranea Social Promotion Association; reclaimed in the 1940s, and recently planted separates the first inhabited part from the beautiful bay and its sea.
Naturalistic sites
In the 60 hectares of the SCI, in fact, an important artificial coastal pine forest with Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) and Mediterranean scrub undergrowth, a dune cordon with heliophilous and halophilous vegetation in which junipers dominate; part of the coast, moreover, is rocky, with an interesting pioneer cliff vegetation of the endemic Groves Plantago (Plantago grovesii) and scrubland formations.
Finally, a number of coastal caves open up on the rocky coast, which, together with the frontal rocks known as the "due sorelle" (two sisters), are home to special bird life. A place of extreme relaxation, it creates just the right shade for shelter from the sun.
The site is complemented by the course of the small, partly cemented "Brunese" dulcicultural river, which flows into the sea through the pine forest and which, apart from limited more inland areas of low scrub or garrigue, is home to wetland fauna and flora.
The Site has considerable landscape value; an element of great interest, in the biotope, is the simultaneous presence of different habitats that allow life, passage and/or reproduction, to diversified plant and animal entities.
Source: www.melendugnotoyou.it
