Driving the Stiletto Heel of Italy - Part 2

After exploring the wonderful little town of Otranto we decided to drive the long and winding road along the coast to get to Gallipoli instead of taking the much shorter route inland.  We were very happy we did.  The coastal drive offers wonderful coastal views and some crazy driving through several very small seaside villages.

Some of the rugged and very rocky coastline that is largely uninhabited along the heel of Italy

We followed several cars down a very narrow and windy road to be rewarded with stunning views of the secluded cove of Porto Badisco.  There were a lot of people sunbathing on the beach and swimming in the stunningly clear turquoise waters.


Minervino Tower is one of four towers that was built along this coastline during the 16th century to help defend the interior from sea attacks

We parked the car and walked across Ciolo Bridge and turned off onto a rugged little trail that gave us this impressive view of Ciolo Bay and its pebble beach below.  In summer adventurous divers jump off the 25m (82ft) bridge deck into the warm Adriatic waters below.

At the very tip of the Italian stiletto lies Santa Maria di Leuca where the Adriatic and Ionian Seas meet.  It is a lovely beach town with a myriad of water activities to choose from.  One of the most popular is cave exploring as there are over 30 to choose from in the immediate area.  Tre Porte Caves (Cave of Three Doors) is one of the most popular as its three openings lead into one immense cavity.  



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Classic Walk from Ravello to Amalfi

Image
Today we are going to take the 50 minute walk from Ravello down to the seaside town of Atrani, the second smallest town in Italy, and then onto the main town on the Amalfi Coast, Amali.  The route we are taking is the one that locals used before the construction of the main road in 1935 and parts of it are not in the best of shape.  However, we made it down without incident.  This was a longer walk than our previous one and were not prepared to hike back up, especially after spending a few hours exploring Amalfi and so we took the public bus, which was a unique experience in its own right as it navigated its way back up the very narrow and windy road to Ravello.  All in all it was a very nice day out exploring.  On the way down were lots of lemon orchards and houses, all with spectacular views of the Med.  The iconic St. Mary Magdalene Bell Tower guiding us down the last remaining steps into Atrani   Originally built in 1...
Read more

A Day on Gozo

Image
Gozo is a small island (1/3 the size of Malta) that is accessible by a 20 minute ferry ride.  The island is part of Malta but the 30,000 locals consider themselves Gozitans first.  We took a taxi to the northern tip of Malta to catch the ferry and had booked a private jeep tour of Gozo.  It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a very knowledgeable guide in Ken who spoke excellent English.  We covered a lot of ground and saw most of the island in our six hour tour and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  We took the ferry back to Malta and decided to take the bus back to Valletta which took 90 minutes instead of the 50 minute taxi ride.    Unloaded from the ferry at lovely Mgaar Harbor with the Church of our Lady of Lourdes (built in 1893) sitting on a promitory overlooking the harbor.  Gozo is much greener and a lot more pastoral than Malta.   Looking down at Ramla Bay with its beautiful sandy beach and colorful blue Mediterr...
Read more

Walking Ravello

Image
Ravello was founded in the 5th century as a shelter against Barbarian invasions which marked the end of the Roman Empire.  Between the 9th and 12th centuries it was an important trading power within the maritime Republic of Amalfi.  In 1086 Pope Victor lll separated Ravello from Amalfi making it a Duchy answerable to the Holy See.  In the 12th century the population was 25,000 and most of its major palaces and churches were built during these wealthy times.  In 1137 the Duchy was attacked and destroyed by the Republic of Pisa.  After this a demographic and economic decline set in and it never recovered to its former glory.  Today the population is around 3,000 permanent residents and the town is almost entirely dedicated to tourism. We are about a 10 minute walk from the town center (1,355 steps) which is quite easy on the way down as we are apartment is higher up the mountain than the town.  But it is a slog to come back up, especially after a l...
Read more