Salento - Apulia Travel Guide, Apulia Guide

The peninsula at the most southerly reaches of Apulia, which forms the heel of the proverbial Italian boot, is Salento. With the Adriatic on its east coast, and the Ionian on its western shores Salento enjoys over 250 km of coastline, for which it is famous.
The western coastline has some spectacular stretches of sweeping, golden sand beach. It is here that the city of Gallipoli, (whose name is taken from the Greek ?Kallipolis?, meaning beautiful city), is built on an island and connected to the mainland by a bridge. On the east coast, especially around the Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca areas, cliffs give way to tiny rocky coves and pretty little bays. The churches in its principal town, Lecce (often called the Florence of the south), pay tribute to the barocco leccese style, many being entirely covered with ornate carvings, whilst the piazza in Nard is said to be the most beautiful in the all Salento.