| LECCE |
| GREEK SALENTO |
| THE TRULLI AND THE MASSERIE |
| TOWERS AND CASTLES |
| COAST TO COAST |
| FLAVOURS |
| ART & CULTURE |
TOWERS AND CASTLES
The 86 towers scattered along the Salento coastline, the flattest in Italy, and 58 of which are still standing, give the seaboard a feeling of movement. Built to forestall the Turkish-Saracen incursions there are more towers in this region than any other in Italy: a tower every 30 kilometres of coast and one every 10 kilometres in the jagged and rugged parts, so that each tower was visible from the next.
The history of the Salento’s castles date back to the Late Middle Ages; from 1600 they were used to control the environs and a symbol of the prestige of the aristocratic class.
The 86 towers scattered along the Salento coastline, the flattest in Italy, and 58 of which are still standing, give the seaboard a feeling of movement. Built to forestall the Turkish-Saracen incursions there are more towers in this region than any other in Italy: a tower every 30 kilometres of coast and one every 10 kilometres in the jagged and rugged parts, so that each tower was visible from the next.
The history of the Salento’s castles date back to the Late Middle Ages; from 1600 they were used to control the environs and a symbol of the prestige of the aristocratic class.
