Egnazia

Egnazia

The ancient city of Gnatia

Gnatia, better to say Egnazia, is an ancient town located in the Savelletri area (Fasano), founded by Greeks and Messapians. Thanks to his huge port, Egnazia was a crossroad for maritime and Puglia commercial trade.

Continue to read to discover more about this epic place!

The Archaeological Park

The traces of Gnatia across the years can be seen with a tour in the Archaeological Park.

The most important trace of the Roman period was the Trajan Way (Via Traiana), paved during the Trajan era: this road linked Benevento to Brindisi for commercial traffic.

In this area there are also The Baths, equipped with a calidarium, tiepidarium, swimming pool, marble baths, statues, mosaics and sitting rooms used to wait for your turn.

In the Baths area laconicum (our sauna) is visible: this room was used for perspiration baths by dry hot air.

The heat contained in the praefurnia was released both by suspensurae, pipes placed below the floor, and by holes in the hollow perimeter walls.

A masterpiece of engineering!

The Egnazia National Archaeological Museum

Certainly the archaeological park of Egnazia is one of the most interesting Apulian places to visit: here are the testimonies from the Bronze Age to the Medieval one.

Real archaeological investigations began in 1912: nowadays this area is still a site of excavations and archaeological discoveries.

Inside the National Archaeological Museum

The Museum is divided into areas from the Prehistoric Period to the Medieval one.

Talking about the must-see pieces, it’s impossible not to mention the Banquet, a piece that is almost unique: it depicts the lunch that, according to tradition, was always made during and after the burial of the departed ones.

Furthermore, there are the Messapic trozzella pots, which do have roundels called “trozze” applied to their handles. 

In the same area there are the Gnathian pots, black pottery with white and yellow decoration, inspired by Greek culture.

To discover more about the Messapic area, watch the video below, done for the Messapic Foundation of the UNPLI Puglia!

The Roman period in the Museum

Speaking of the Roman period (Hadrian era), the statue of Demetra is of particular interest.

According to a legend Demetra, the Greek Goddess of Agriculture, lost her daughter Persephone robbed from Hades, the God of Death.

Demetra became so crazy to find her daughter that she literally lost her head (which is why the statue doesn’t have the head).

Highly valuable in the museum there is also the head of Attis, the lover of Cibele (the Goddess of all Gods), both venerated in the Roman Period.

A nymph skimmed a fruit with her skin and became pregnant with a god: in this way Attis the beautiful, the great love of Cybele, was born.

Puglia ceramic tradition in the Museum

Ceramics were used to store and transport food (oil, wine) in Puglia since the Bronze Age.

In particular ceramic pomegranates formerly were a symbol of prosperity and the afterlife and inside the Museum you can find a lot of beautiful clay pomegranates, also in the tomb walls.

Actually pomegranates are still produced in Puglia: click this link to discover Grottaglie, the Apulian City of Ceramics!

clay pomegranades at the national archeological museum of egnazia puglia

Tips:

Download the EGNAZIA AUDIO GUIDE APP available on Play Store and Apple Store!

Inside the Archaeological Park, there are a lot of spots where, using the app to frame the QR code, you can learn more about what you’re seeing.

The Necropoli Map in the Archaeological Park is tactile to help blind visitors to enjoy the tour!

It is possible to do immersions to discover the ancient ruins of the port of Egnazia, swallowed by the sea.

Great, isn’t it?

And if you want to know other curiosities about Egnazia, don’t forget to see the #5FunFacts on IG! Click here to enjoy!

See you in Puglia!

Get in touch

Connect directly with the managing authority of this place by the contact form

You find all the conversations you made via ImaginApulia, like comments and massages by contact form, on the Your Connections page.

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National Archaeological Museum of Egnazia, Savelletri (BR)

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The tale of the Two Sisters


Traveling on the Apulian Adriatic coastline, in a few km from Lecce city, you’ll reach the marine area of Torre dell’Orso and the most famous Two Sisters Beach | ita: Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle.

  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia

Are you curious to know something about that singular name?

Well, there is a nice and a bit sad tale behind the Two Sisters Beach | ita: Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle. This gives the location a huge air of mystery.

This marine area is very fascinating. Reachable walking through a little Mediterranean Maquis forest, under the cliffs there’s a sandy beach 800 meters long.

Slight white sand, clear turquoise seawater, warm enchanting sun, everything in the same stunning place.

But probably you’re still thinking about the tale, so, I’m going to tell the story.

The tale of the Sisters

« The tale says that once upon a time, two young sisters were living in the Salento area. They were very hard workers, and they had never seen the magnificence of the sea.

One day, to counteract the hot summer, they went toward the seaside for the first time. Well, they were so much fascinated by the amazing view they got there that the younger one dived from the cliff into the water. At that point, the eldest sister tried to save her, but it was too late.

They couldn’t get back to the shore. The Gods, looking at them: alone, desperate, and cute, decided to turn them into two beautiful rocky stacks in the middle of the sea.

A fisherman, while walking nearby, just saw two rocks rise from the sea. Since that day, the beach is known as Two Sisters Beach. »

The tale is very magical but a bit sad, and once there, it’s really hard to don’t get emotional.

Then, the clear seawater just completes the landscape.

Two Sisters Beach and Torre Dell’Orso

The Two Sisters Beach| ita: Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | is located in the marine area of MelendugnoTorre dell’Orso. For the sake of completeness, we have to say that also this name has got a charming little story.

In this case, the name Torre dell’Orso, which literally means Bear Tower, derives from the sighting tower by the sea.

Then, on the cliff under the tower, there’s a rock shaped like a bear by the erosion.

  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia

One day trip

If you want to get a fantastic and cool experience traveling on the Adriatic coastline, start your trip having a good breakfast in Lecce.

We advise you to ask for a pasticiotto and a caffè leccese: you’ll love them from here to the moon and back!

Then, drive from Lecce to Roca Vecchia village, where the amazing Poetry Cave | ita: Grotta della Poesia | awaits you for a nice dive.

After that, run towards the Two Sisters Beach | ita: Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | to get a relaxing swim into one of the most beautiful seas of Puglia.

In the end, reach Torre Sant’Andrea to admire the stunning view of The Sea Stacks of Sant’Andrea | ita: I Faraglioni di Sant’Andrea .

But if you have still time, don’t miss the weird landscape of the Bauxite Cave | ita: Cava di Bauxite | quite close to Otranto.

You can easily do this little itinerary on a one day trip. From the morning to the night on the southern Adriatic coastline of Puglia.

We did it and you find an article about our Road Trip in Salento on the blog!

Would you like to start your trip? Enjoy your One day trip to Salento!

Click on the map below to directly get the direction.

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We deliver posters in Italy for now, or you can catch them in Bari.

Starting from September 27th

Let us know if you live in the US or a European country and want to make an order.

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