Italy – Apulia 2004, part 9 (Maglie, Castro, Tricase Porto, Ponte Ciolo)
When I returned from Otranto to Maglie, it was still not night and on the way from the train station to my room, I passed by a couple of notable places in this small town once again.
Not only did the path lead me past the column called Colonna della Madonna delle Grazie, but both important churches were open, so I went inside briefly so as not to disturb the worshippers.
The first one was the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
The second one was the cathedral. By the way, I had already photographed both of these churches during the day (as can be seen in the previous part of the travelogue), but I was also curious to see what they looked like at night.
I also took a walk to the very centre, where the square with the town hall building is located.
In the immediate vicinity, there are also several bars and smaller restaurants, so I sat down in one to pleasantly end this day, which I managed quite well considering the problems with my spine, back and right leg. The pain, or rather discomfort, was present the entire time, but it didn't prevent me from moving around.
By the way, it was Monday and it seemed that most local restaurants were closed, so I didn’t have much of a choice, but in the end, I was content.
After a pleasant relaxation, I headed towards my room and along the way I took a few shots of the relatively sleepy Maglie.
Since I had realised in the meantime that by mid-September, the south of Italy is already in the off-season and I wouldn't be able to visit anything relying on public transport, I managed, with a bit of luck, to arrange with the owner of the extremely beautiful room in the centre of Maglie where I had been staying for a couple of days to rent a car for one day. In fact, she recommended a local agency and through an app I arranged when I would pick up the car the following day.
First, I went to a bar that was also owned by that charming girl who had rented me the room, since I had breakfast there and that's how we got to know each other. These days, renting rooms through apps (unless it's in a proper hotel) usually goes without any real human contact – you get instructions on how to retrieve the key, while and at the end of the stay you leave the key in the same place you found it, and that's it. Payment is made by card and no one actually meets anyone.
That wasn’t the case this time and it was a nice brief chat before I started walking to the car agency, which was about a half-hour walk away.
Although most of the walk was quite boring since I passed through the local "industrial zone" (Maglie is a small town with around 15,000 inhabitants, so even the "industrial zone" is not large), in the beginning, I did manage to capture a lovely square and park – Piazza Francesco Capece.
I then just kept going straight and eventually reached the agency. There, a young and very friendly girl was working, so I chatted with her a bit, in addition to signing the rental agreement for the car. She also recommended that I stop by Castro, which became my first destination.
However, first, here’s a map showing the places I went to during this trip through southern Italy in September 2024:
As can be seen from the previous map, if the Salento peninsula is the "heel" of the Italian "boot," then Castro is located in the middle of the "top piece”.
The entire eastern coast of the Salento peninsula – from Otranto, which is about 23 km north of Castro, to the town of Santa Maria di Leuca, at the southernmost point, about 30 km south of Castro – was declared a Regional Park in 2006: Costa Otranto - Santa Maria di Leuca e Bosco di Tricase. The reason for this was the intention to protect architectural assets, as well as important plant and animal species.
As for Castro, the very name of the town suggests that there is some kind of fortress, so I was sure I would have something to explore there. However, at first, I needed to find a place to park the car.
I wasn’t sure if my choice of the parking spot was a good one, so I asked some locals nearby and they confirmed that everything was fine and that I could safely leave the car there. However, this also meant I had to climb a bit in order to reach the historical centre. Still, it was easier than trying to drive into the historical centre itself, where I wasn’t sure if I could find a parking lot or where to park the car.
Although I didn’t have much information about the town itself, I did see a sign at one point indicating the direction of a walking path along the "Aragonese ramparts." I decided to head in that direction first.
This walking path practically goes around the entire historical centre and within it is the Aragonese Castle from the 12th-13th century, built on the remains of a Byzantine fortification.
Since the historical centre is located on an elevated area, from one spot, I had a pretty beautiful view of the coastline and parts of the town that are situated lower.
I continued walking along the path around the historical centre and at one point it led me directly to the historical centre and one of its most significant buildings.
It was the Church of the Annunciation, which I first approached from the front, but the entrance there was closed.
So, I went to the square that faces the side of the church. The church is much more visible from there and the entrance is located on that side.
The Church of the Annunciation in Castro was built in 1171, but there was an earlier Byzantine church from the 9th-10th century on the same site. The remains of that Byzantine basilica can be seen from the direction of the square and they are attached to the side of the Church of the Annunciation.
Traces of frescoes, a part of the remains of the Byzantine basilica, can also be seen.
I went inside the church and took a little walk around, paying attention to some of the details.
Now I headed back towards the entrance to the historical centre of Castro, which is essentially a pedestrian area and that’s how I came to another beautiful square.
There is also a viewpoint here from which you can see the eastern and northern parts of the coastline, but at that moment, I was more interested in photographing the flowers growing within the old ramparts. I think this is a type of bellflower – Campanula pugliese.
As for the walls and the remains of the medieval citadel, today the archaeological museum is located there, but my plan wasn't to stop by that place.
I found it more interesting to capture again the view towards the south-eastern coast of the Salento peninsula and parts of the town of Castro.
In order to avoid returning to the car using the same streets of Castro I had climbed, which weren't particularly interesting, and since I had noticed some stairs during my walk along the path around the historical centre of the town that led in the direction I wanted, I decided to head towards them. This way, I descended to the spot where I had parked the car, while this route was definitely much more picturesque.
Now I could continue on, driving further south along the Salento coast.
Since there were very few cars on the road, I managed to stop safely at one spot to quickly capture a scene. It was an olive grove growing on a slope, with the flat areas of land from which the olive trees rise being secured, that is, reinforced with stacked stones.
I didn’t see this at just one spot; such scenes are quite a common sight along the road. Once again, I couldn’t shake the impression that the people here are incredibly hardworking – they have to move the stones to the right place, even if the stones are on a nearby slope or meadow, and then arrange them meaningfully.
On the other side of the road, I could see the rocky coastline of the currently turbulent Ionian Sea.
By chance, I also noticed someone sitting on the rocks, gazing into the distance. I hope they were simply enjoying the natural elements, although, for my taste, there was too much wind to sit by the sea for a long time.
Although the coastline here is rocky, it should be mentioned that on the "inner side of the heel," that is, on the western coast of the Salento peninsula, there are quite beautiful sandy beaches (I’m speaking from the photos I’ve seen and what I’ve read about it). The town of Porto Cesareo is especially known for its clear waters and sandy beaches. However, since it was already the second half of September and the temperature wasn’t very high, coupled with the strong wind blowing, I knew I definitely wouldn't be going to the beach, so the idea of heading to Porto Cesareo didn’t appeal to me.
There is also a small sandy beach in a town I first just passed through, then turned back to and briefly stopped in order to take a few photos. It’s a little village – Tricase Porto.
I hadn’t planned on stopping here at all and my guidebooks didn’t mention Tricase Porto, but the main road that runs along the coast from Otranto to Santa Maria di Leuca, which I was driving on, took me through this place and I saw a few beautiful scenes in the centre. I wanted to stop briefly, maybe even have lunch, but I couldn’t find a free spot to park the car (it seemed like I had unexpectedly entered a bit of a crowd). For some reason, there were signs indicating specific routes to follow, so I actually had to exit the town and only then did I return via another route, which made me take quite a large detour.
It didn’t bother me, but I still had trouble finding a free parking spot. So, I parked in a rather questionable place, but since my plan was to stay there for just a few minutes, I thought there wouldn’t be any issues. And there weren’t.
On the other hand, from the street that runs along the sea, I could see a parking lot that was completely empty. It struck me as both strange and suspicious, in the sense that all the parking spots around the neighbourhood were taken, yet here there were as many free spots as one could wish for. At the same time, I had no intention of dealing with the parking system in southern Italy and going towards the signs and study them.
In the entire region, there are a number of caves accessible from the sea, as well as narrow and deep inlets. Tricase Porto is known as a place with a harbour that dates back to the 15th century, created in one of these bays, though the harbour has since been slightly expanded.
I walked a few hundred metres along the harbour and I thought that there were probably good restaurants and bars here, which is why people had gathered in larger numbers. In any case, I captured another part of the harbour, then quickly headed back to the car. Locals might be able to park wherever and however they feel like, but I certainly can’t. At least not for long and while staying calm and relaxed in the meantime.
Then I got into my rented car and continued on.
In this part of my tour, I started encountering people running along the road, so I assumed it was some kind of local marathon or event. As I’ve mentioned, there weren’t many cars on the road, so I just needed to be mindful when I had to overtake these runners. In the end, we all made it through just fine.
About 12.5 km further, at the Ponte Ciolo bridge, I finally found a place where I could legally park and also take a break for lunch.
The bridge was built during the 1960s and it crosses an inlet.
Although I found the whole place quite interesting and one can also cross the bridge on foot, I decided to go and have something to eat first. I chose homemade pasta with mussels, clams, shrimp and squid. It was delicious.
After the nice lunch, I went for a walk across the bridge. The view of the open sea was truly fascinating, especially considering the dramatic waves.
Here, you can clearly see how the sea has created the inlet into the land, while in the next photo, you can also see one of the several caves in this area. From what I’ve managed to find out, this is the Grotta Grande del Ciolo.
But it was also interesting to return along the other side of the bridge, as there are some details visible there as well.
There are stairs that descend to the Ciolo sandy beach, but it was clear that no one was swimming that day.
You can also see that the stairs from the beach lead uphill and, from what I’ve read, there is a small cave there, as well as an area for rock climbing, for those who are interested. What is definitely a popular activity in this region is hiking and there are several designated trails throughout the area.
The next place where I planned to take a break was the town of Santa Maria di Leuca, located at the southernmost tip of the Salento peninsula. I still had just under 10 km to go and along the way I stopped briefly a couple of times in order to take more photos of stone-built structures. I was really impressed.
As a sign that I was getting closer to my next destination, from one spot, I had a nice view of the lighthouse at the Cape of Santa Maria di Leuca. I briefly pulled over to the side of the road, then dashed to the other side in order to take a photo. As for traffic, there was no one on the road, so this "action" was made easier for me.
This cape is located at the southernmost tip of the Salento peninsula and the construction of the lighthouse began in 1864. The lighthouse became operational two years later. It stands 47 m tall and is positioned at an elevation of 102 m above sea level. Its light can be seen from a distance of 44 km.
I didn’t drive all the way to the lighthouse itself; instead, I continued further and parked my car in a parking area that I came across, with the intention of walking from there.