Gallipoli Pictures
Gallipoli, through architecture, history and tradition
Gallipoli from the Greek kalé-polis, that is beautiful town, is most frequently known as the Ionian Pearl. The old town, originally built on an island, was later bound to the land through a long bridge made of stone. Among old palaces with baroque balconies and antique portals with coats of arms, the cathedral, a XVII cent. masterpiece, several churches, like the little Purità with its majolica floor, in front of the stunning scenery of the Ionian Sea. Santa Cristina, the patron saint of the town, is celebrated on July 24th with ancient religious rites, a very suggestive procession and spectacular fireworks. In front of the fortified town, the main road leads up to the modern part of the town, where lively commercial activities such as inviting ice-cream shops, pizzerias, restaurants and nice clothing shops are open until late at night.
Charming sea places to visit
From the panoramic motorway Lecce-Gallipoli-S.Maria di Leuca, that is situated at the back of Baia Verde, you can reach the most beautiful places of Salento. Porto Selvaggio, for example, a gorgeous natural park on the Ionic coast from where, after a twenty minutes walk through the maritime pine-wood, you will discover a tiny beach in front of a blue-sky sea, ideal for a picnic. S. Caterina and S. Maria al Bagno, little villages of fishermen, there you can taste delicious fresh fish and from the hill, at night, you admire the charm of the lighted gulf of Gallipoli that seems like a nativity scene. Leuca is the extreme part of the Salento Peninsula and is very easy to reach through the picturesque seaside road. There, at sunrise, you can watch the suggestive scenery of the pink Albanian mountains. On the Adriatic coast, Otranto, the historic town of martyrs. They can be visited in the cathedral where there is also a famous mosaic floor representing the life tree.
