Discovering Puglia: Gallipoli & Leuca

Leaving Lecce and heading towards the Ionian Sea for the day, we have on our agenda, Santa Maria di Leuca where the Adriatic sea meets the â€‹Ionian Sea and continuing our trip to Gallipoli where you get to enjoy a spectacular sunset. 

Beach of Gallipoli

Santa Maria Di Leuca

Iconic lighthouse being the 2nd most important in Italy after the one in Genoa

"Sanctuary, or Basilica, De Finibus Terrae ("End of the Land", 1720-1755), built to commemorate the passage of St. Peter here during his travel to Italy. It is devoted to Saint Mary (from whom the town gets the name Santa Maria di Leuca). It lies on the former site of a Roman temple dedicated to Minerva." (Source)

Traditionally considered the lowest point of the geographical "heel" of Italian peninsula, as well as the meeting point of the waters from the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea.

And I absolutely need to add another picture with the view

Road from Leuca to Gallipoli

First a picture of our car, to fit in the landscape :P

make sure you take the little roads, we only managed by adding small villages along the road. There are a lot of turns through winding roads with olive trees on both sides when inland  

and the sea when driving right along the coast. 

And everywhere on the road we saw these little stone houses which I can't remember the name of, I did see the name when driving from Bari. 

Gallipoli 

"The town is located by the Ionian Sea, on the west coast of the Salentina Peninsula. The town of Gallipoli is divided into two parts, the modern and the old city. The new town includes all the newest buildings including a skyscraper. The old town is located on a limestone island, linked to the mainland by a bridge built in the 16th century." (Source)
Obviously we have only visited the old town :)

Walk the little streets 

Buy a natural sponge as a souvenir 

And let's face it yet another picture of an old fiat did not harm anyone, look how cute it is. 

Stay for the sunset 

It is so relaxing to watch this show as my friend @thefishstagram calls the sunset 

Don't forget to check out the night view of the city you leave behind...quite amazing 

Side note 

They say that the road from Leuca to Otranto is extremely spectacular, so you might consider going Lecce - Gallipoli - Leuca - Otranto but you'll miss the sunset in the sea