Porto Badisco

Continuing towards the south on the coast road, the shores of Salento show themselves in all their rugged splendour. High cliffs and sixteenth-century watchtowers dominate the countryside in an immense arc of scenery that seems to go on forever. In less than 10 km you arrive at Porto Badisco, a stupendous bay and natural harbour that is said to be the first Italian landing-place reached by Aeneas on his legendary travels. The flora and the fauna in Porto Badisco, together with the very early traces of the presence of humans cherished in the numerous mostly-inaccessible grottoes and recesses (especially the Grotta dei Cervi, or Cave of Deer), make this a place of enormous charm and atmosphere, where you can fully enjoy the genuine craggy and solitary nature of the land of Salento.

Don’t miss: the sea-urchins in Porto Badisco, at midday.