Home » Italy 🇮🇹 » Capo Santa Maria Di Leuca, Italy. 2018.
Travelled: 130 kilometres from Grottaglie to Capo Sta Maria Di Leuca, both in Italy.
Visited: Capo Sta Maria Di Leuca in Puglia.
Every now and then you don’t have a good night in a sosta. Last night in Grittaglie was one of those. The Italians don’t come out for dinner until 8-9pm, we normally go to bed not long after that time. As it’s festival time our car-park fills to capacity, but the cars just keep on coming. Then there’s the parking attendent trying to stop people from parking in the driveways, lots of yelling and general carrying on. On the other hand it was a free stop.
So it was a late start this morning, we have some coffee and fruit and continue east.
The morning traffic is light but the goat crossings are busy.
Someone is living the dream. The landscape is very flat and quite barren, from a couple of kilometres away it looks like an old castle, but up close someone has built a new castle.
There are some good renovation possibilities in Sava.
The road east to Gallipoli is a series of bottlenecks in the towns and villages. Where not in a hurry so it’s not a problem. But the road surfaces in the villages are worse than you can imagine. Huge unfilled potholes and uneven surfaces mean there is no relaxing.
We take the turn for Gallipoli just for its name as much as anything else. It’s a small touristy sea port in southern Puglia. We cannot find a parking spot, so we find a tree with some shade and have a late lunch.
By mid-afternoon we arrive in Capo Sta Maria di Leuca. The south eastern tip of Italy, so for our 2018 adventures everywhere from here is heading home.
It looks a pretty town, but the roads are narrow so we turn around and find a parking spot at the sosta near the marina. We get a spot in the shade under a tree and quickly decide we have had enough for today. A little nap, followed by a swim seem in order.
Feeling somewhat refreshed we walk off looking for a beach. This rock cove was the best we could find, mind you the water was clear and getting in and out easy enough.
The shadows are getting longer, so we get the scooter off to do some exploring and find somewhere for a drink. But first we ride to the top of the cape behing us and find this church and monastery, called the Sanctury of di Leuca.
The wedding party and guests were walking out as we arrived. So we quickly duck in for a photo, obviously the flowers are a bonus.
The cape’s lighthouse, not a Stephenson !
Looking back on Sta Maria di Leuca and the capo beyond. It’s a pretty place.
Just a quick bonus photo. Up early the next morning we scooter out to the Canal del Ciolo for a swim. As good as it gets !
San Benedetto Monastery, Italy. 2018.
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