Exploring the heel of Italy’s boot

If you ever find yourself in the Puglia region of Italy, specifically it’s southern most area (the heel), here are four cities we recommend worth a visit…

We highly recommend the anchorage in Otranto. We decided we liked it much better than if we had been able to secure a spot in the marina. And, we were glad we were able to give Cuala and Olivier that anchorage experience. In the morning, we got UberDing re-inflated and took her up to the town. From the sea, the town is very unassuming. We were very pleasantly surprised and enjoyed meandering around this beautiful city. It has a well-preserved UNESCO listed Old Town, a nice harbor, beach, and medieval castle. With every turn, we were more and more taken with this beautiful place. The Cathedral of Otranto (Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata) was an amazing surprise we almost missed. Don’t miss this! It was consecrated in 1088 and is just stunning with amazing mosaic tile floors, wooden ceilings, skulls, and how well it’s been preserved. Cuala took note of some seaside rental apartments as this town is definitely worth revisiting.

In the afternoon, we pulled up anchor and set off for the very tip of the heel – Santa Maria di Leuca, or just Leuca (pronounced Lay-oo-ka). There were high winds and high swell, so we stayed put here for three nights. Our normal stern lines couldn’t prevent the boat from jarring as the swell and wind in the marina pushed us back and forth and up and down. Conor purchased springs and upgraded dock lines to create much needed shock absorbers.  

There are four main sites to see in Leuca and three are all next to each other – The Monumental Waterfall represents the terminal part of the Apulian Aqueduct. It was inaugurated in 1939. Sometimes called “Mussolini’s Steps” because he requested a dramatic finish to this aqueduct project. Nowadays, the waterfall supposedly can be seen flowing on Fridays, but we saw it lit up at night.

We climbed the steps up from the port to the top where there is a plaza containing the beautiful Basilica (Basilica Santuario di Santa Maria de Finibus Terrae). This basilica was built in 1700, though it is the sixth holy building on this site. Continuous destruction brought down all former temples/churches. Currently, adorning the high altar is a painting of Madonna and Child painted by the Florentine painter Giacomo Palma junior. The small fragment came from a much larger painting and was the only part to miraculously survive a fire. This church is also famous for being the site of St. Peter’s first landfall in Italy.

Right next to the basilica is Leuca’s famous Lighthouse. As the southernmost point of Puglia, this is where the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea meet. The views from up here are stellar.

Finally, Leuca is known for its many beautiful Grottos, and taking a boat tour out to see them is a number one activity. We didn’t do this, but enjoyed seeing them as we came in and out of port. 

Leuca also had a nice seaside promenade and so many interesting old villas to see. It seems this place likely had its heyday many moons ago with wealth flowing through, and it was sad to see it so quiet and so abandoned. We were there at the end of September, so it’s possible there is more life during the summer months. Interesting history and more details here. 

For one of our days in port we rented a car to visit the inland areas of Puglia. We were led to believe that the coastal road to the west was filled with nice beach towns, so we drove through on our way to Gallipoli. We found the coastal area to be quite tired and quiet. Again, maybe livelier in the summer months, but still not areas we would rush back to. The run down roads led to the quote of the day from Olivier riding in the backseat: “My bum is getting a workout.” Gallipoli is a very nice city, though, on the west coast of Italy’s heel. We enjoyed a delicious pasta lunch in a restaurant within an old palace right near the sea, and enjoyed meandering through Gallipoli’s pretty Old Town area.

Next up was a drive northeast to Lecce, often called the “Florence of the South” due to its beautifully preserved baroque buildings. We were very impressed with Lecce and would definitely return here. A neat old castle, Old Town, Roman ruins and amphitheater, beautiful cathedral, piazzas, so many preserved buildings, and much more. We didn’t have time to explore it all!

We greatly enjoyed our explorations. Sooner than planned it was time to depart. Our next weather window dictated that a second overnight crossing was in order, so it was time to get prepped!