The 'finis terrae' where the two seas meet
At the southernmost tip of the Salento, the "heel" of the Italian boot, Santa Maria di Leuca is the "finis terrae", the end of the land, where according to tradition the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea meet. On clear days, it is said, you can see a line on the water where the two seas, of slightly different colours, touch. The headland of Punta Meliso is crowned by the Basilica of Santa Maria de Finibus Terrae, a sanctuary built on the site of a temple of Minerva, where tradition says St Peter landed on his way to Rome, and by one of the most important lighthouses in Italy, 47 metres high, whose light can be seen from 40 km away.
Below the sanctuary, a monumental staircase of about 300 steps descends to the sea, flanked by a cascade of water: it marks the end of the Apulian Aqueduct, the great work that from 1906 to 1939 brought water from Campania to arid Apulia, and the waterfall flows only on special occasions. The seafront of the village is lined with colourful and extravagant villas built by the rich families of Lecce in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, in Moorish, Gothic, Pompeian and Liberty styles. The coast around Leuca is full of sea caves, such as the Grotta del Diavolo and the Grotta delle Tre Porte, which can be explored on boat trips.
Tip: the boat trip to the caves leaves from the port; the sunset from the square of the lighthouse is spectacular.
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