Santa Maria di Leuca

Santa Maria di Leuca

The land where two seas meets

Santa Maria di Leuca is the maritime area of Castrignano (province of Lecce), in the southern point of Salento where the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet.

The name comes from the Latin Leukos (light, bright) and the religious Sanctuary, once the site of a Temple of Minerva.

As reported by a Latin inscription placed on the Sanctuary, Saint Peter arrived on the shores of Salento in 43 after Christ (exactly ten years after the death of Christ) and evangelized the area by renaming it “Santa Maria di Leuca”.

Do you want to know something more? Read the article below!

Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Leuca

Santa Maria di Leuca from the Romans was considered as the place where the land was finished. 

This is why the Sanctuary was called “De Finibus Terrae”.

The sanctuary was consecrated by Pope Julius I on August 1, 343 A.D.: it has long been and still is a place of pilgrimage.

The Sanctuary has been devastated a lot of times, especially by the Turks and Saracens, and has been rebuilt more or less following the same perimeter walls.

The lighthouse of Santa Maria di Leuca

E’ stupendo il faro di Leuca, tra mare e mare, con accanto un santuario, mèta di pellegrinaggi, nel quale, secondo le credenze, occorre essere stati per accedere al paradiso

cit: Guido Piovene

It is wonderful the lighthouse of Leuca, between sea and sea, with a sanctuary next to it, destination of pilgrimages, in which, according to traditions, you must have been to access paradise

cit: Guido Piovene

The lighthouse is 47 m high from soil level and 102 m from sea level and it offers the possibility to reach the circular terrace and see far away places like Corfù.

From the terrace, you can reach a spectacular view, especially during the sunset, while the sky is painted with vivid colors creating an enchanting atmosphere.

Punta Meliso – Leuca’s promontory

Punta Meliso is the promontory where we can find the lighthouse of Santa Maria di Leuca and where, according to traditions, the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet.

This phenomenon is very interesting to see: it seems that currents of the two seas release both a different tonality opposing each other.

Since 2006 the area of Punta Meliso lies in a protected area, called Costa Otranto Park – with Santa Maria di Leuca and Bosco di Tricase, created to preserve the biodiversity and the beauty of this area.

punta meliso santa maria di leuca

Tips:

To enjoy the culture, the beauty of these places, the famous crystal clear Salento sea and the beautiful Salento beaches, choose May or September: these places are particularly frequented in the summer, especially in the middle of August.

Do you know that, along the seafront, can be found the bagnarole, structures reserved for the women of the aristocracy of Salento, who could thus access the sea away from prying eyes and the sun?

Take a deeper look inside the bagnarole: click here!

See you in Puglia!

Get in touch

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Brindisi Lecce BARI Fasano Taranto Vieste Troia Foggia Conversano Castellana Grotte Monopoli Polignano a Mare BARI Mola di Bari Andria Gravina in Puglia Trani Barletta Fasano Alberobello Noci Locorotondo Cisternino Martina Franca Mottola Laterza Castellaneta Marina Taranto Vieste Peschici Rodi Garganico Monte Sant’Angelo Manfredonia San Giovanni Rotondo Lesina Margherita di Savoia Foggia Ostuni Ceglie Messapica Francavilla Fontana Brindisi Lecce Torre dell’Orso Porto Cesareo Otranto S. Cesarea Terme Gallipoli Ugento Santa Maria di Leuca Nardò Faeto Troia Bovino Sant’Agata di Puglia Lucera

Info Points nearby

Lecce

Info Point Sedile Palace
Sedile Palace | Piazza Sant’Oronzo
Tel. +39 0832 242099
info.lecce@viaggiareinpuglia.it

Info Point Castle
Castle Carlo V | Viale XXV Luglio
Tel. +39 0832 246517
info.lecce@viaggiareinpuglia.it

Santa Maria di Leuca / Salento / Puglia

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