Starting from the Adriatic side, in Roca Vecchia, there is immediately the Poesia (Poetry) Grotto, a natural paradise that preserves some important archaeological witnesses. The legend tells that in this Grotto, from its salutary waters, a wonderful princess loved to bathe and with her beauty she draws many poets from all over the South of Italy.

Going on towards South, the next Grotto is the Neolithic Cervi (Deer) Grotto, in Porto Badisco, one of the most imposing monuments of pictorial and rocky art of Europe. It has more than 3.000 pictographs in ochre and bats guano that represent dancing and hunting scenes, geometric figures and shamans. In Castro there is Romanelli Grotto with graffiti that show a mythology founded on sexual symbolism. Remains of elephants, rhinoceros, deer and penguins were discovered.

Zinzulusa Grotto, so called for the numberless stalactites and stalagmites conformations that recall hanged rags shapes, can be reached from a ravine and from the sea. Azzurra Grotto is not far from Zinzulusa and can be reached only from the sea. The Grotto has a variable luminescence from green to cobalt, thanks to the light refraction phenomenon.

Further south, in Capo di Leuca, there are antelucan caves. Tre Porte Grotto, so called because it has three arches at sight on the sea, preserves remains of the Neanderthal man and of African fauna. Then there are Elefante (Elephant) Grotto and Giganti (Giants) Grotto where bones and teeth of pachyderms were discovered. Diavolo (Devil) Grotto has a mouth of four meters, stands on Punta Ristola and can be reached either from the sea or from the land. Pieces of utensils and Neolithic ceramics were discovered there. Presepe (Creche) Grotto is on the ionic side of Leuca, it is opened with two mouths divided by a wall and it is important for the discovery of a rare species of water sponge in course of extinction.

On the Ionic side, from Punta Ristola to Uluzzo Bay, at the borders of Portoselvaggio Park Cavallo (Horse) Grotto and Uluzzo Grotto open with deposits of Palaeolithic hand made articles and remains of big mammals. The sea uniqueness, its charm and its greatness make even more characteristic these very ancient rocks protrusions.

No less than twenty castles make the Salento area itself into one huge fort, a rock-like bastion, which together with coastal towers and internally fortified farmhouses, have stood against the hundreds of invasions which through the centuries have made this region a conquered land or a land to conquer for Normans, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese, Spanish, Venetians and Saracens.
The actual lay-out of nearly all Salento’s castles dates back to the Renaissance period (15th and 16th century), even if is often the case that earlier structures have been built into various complexes, as for example in the case of the castles in Copertino, Gallipoli, Otranto, Acquarica del Capo, Presicce, Morciano di Leuca and Roca Vecchia.
Emblematic of this are Lecce’s Carlo V castle (built between 1539 and 1549) and the fortified town of Acaja with its moat and bastions,(in the Vernole zone), just a few kilometres from the regional centre of Lecce. Here we are face to face with two of the finest examples of Renaissance military architecture, not only in terms of the Salento area but nationally, the work of the great architect Gian Giacomo of Acaja, dear to the heart of the same emperor Carlo V. Recently Lecce’s castle has resumed its most natural function of being a cultural centre, something the town is envied for by many provinces.
A mention apart for the castle in Corigliano d’Otranto, a superb synthesis of military practicality and artistic beauty. It is the most decoratively rich in the region and among the most visited and admired castles in the South of Italy.

"Masserie" means FARMS and represents a close relationship among man life, work and production.

They testimony the type of economic and social organisation of the land and of the rural settings that dates back to the Medieval period. They were built for the farmers who worked the fields even if they belonged to the rich landowners who benefited of a part of the harvest. The other part was of the farmer who, in such a way, also gets the home for his own family.

The production was mainly the growing of wheat, olives, and cereals, besides cattle-breeding, milk and cheese production.

All the farms had a tower that was almost never inhabited by the farmer, but it was inhabited by the owner. The other purpose of the tower was to make sighting easier. The lower part of the farm was used for milk working. Around the tower there was often a spiral staircase that could reach 15 or 16 meters, next to it there were always a well, basins for washing and watering places.

Lecce district has many examples of farms: Rauccio: it is between Surbo and Torre Rinalda. It has ruins of a chapel and a cylindrical dove-cot located not far from the simple line tower that dominates the verdant landscape. In 1755 it belonged to the Convent of Santissima Annunciata of Lecce.

In the neighbourhood of this farm there is another one called Masseria Barrera composed of two flanked towers, both of them supplied with embrasures in line with doors and windows.

Masseria Coccioli is another one of the same importance. Though deserted, it still preserves the memory of a happy season for Salento agricultural economy. It is composed of a tower with a squared basis, an internal staircase, a drawbridge and a chapel.

On the contrary, Masseria Monacelli is defaced by vandals who deprived it of its four coat-of-arms and its statue. There is also an underground oil-mill. From here it is possible to see the two floors tower with an internal staircase of the next Masseria Gianpaolo that is bound to the names of the most important feudal families of Lecce, among which Federico Tafuri and Gian Domenico Cigala.

Furthermore, on the road to Squinzano there is Masseria Ghietta with its two floors tower and an elegant small church dedicated to S. Maria degli Angeli.

Even in Nardò lands, in times gone by, there were several farm-houses among which Masseria Carignano Grande with the chapel, the dove-cot tower with a circular basis. The elegant ashlar-work in the sixteenth century style frames doorways and windows. The building is shaped more as a typical rustic villa than a fortified farm. It also has a well and a cistern.

After several hundred of meters, at the cross-roads between Gallipoli and Taranto, there is Masseria Brusca with its eighteenth century chapel and the architectural motives that surround the garden walls. At 2 Km distance, on the road that from Nardò leads to Manduria, it is possible to catch a glimpse of Masseria Nucci, a rather modest building complex with a two floors tower slightly leaning at the basis that dates back to the first half of the fifteenth century. In 1699 it was given to the Monastery of S. Chiara di Nardò. 

Almost at the border there is another building, Masseria Sciogli with its two towers built during different periods. On one of them lean a brick staircase and a massive drawbridge. The decorative motives are of elegant making.

In the middle of a pine forest it is possible to catch a glimpse of the outline of Masseria Giudice Giorgio, the most spectacular rural building of Salento, with embrasures and angular look-out turrets linked with a covered hall that give the effect of being close to a castle. On the road from Vergole to Porto Cesareo there is Masseria Trappeto with a scenographical staircase leaning on the tower, a room with an oil-mill and a wide wall where runs a pathway from which one reaches a staircase located on the wall adjoining the main entrance.

From Gallipoli to Santa Maria di Leuca there are many other farms. On the land between Torre S. Giovanni Marina, Ugento, Pressicce and Torre Vado, there is another group of farms different for typology and structure such as the stately Torre Mammarie, the cylindrical Torre Vecchia, from Masseria Tunna to Masseria del Feudo up to Masseria Torre Pali.

In the last ten years many farms were restored and became houses, but there are also farm holidays and hotels that preserve untouched the charm of the past, a landscape to discover, scenery that changes continuously but that still remains evocative.

On the Salento coasts there are about 58 towers, located on promontories or on rocky grounds. Some of them still preserve all their magnificence. During the Saracen incursions they were used as sighting towers.

They are landmarks for sailors, they identify places and they make the Marine atmosphere special.

The majority of them have a squared plan with a slightly leaning basis and a structure provided with loopholes and embrasures; some others are cylindrical.

In Lecce Marine there is Torre Specchiolla with a squared basis and a pyramid-shaped trunk. It has 12 embrasures (an opening done in rock projections and galleries to throw stones and boiling liquid on the enemies but also to favour the downflow of waters) "a filo di scarpa" (an inclined terrace, usually built with ground that gives to the wall a progressively enlarged form at the basis). Torre Rinalda is similar to the previous one even if it has a different size; Torre Veneri whose trunk is still pyramid-shaped but unfortunately the above part has fallen down; Torre Chianca that was built in 1569 and has a circular shape and San Cataldo that exists since 1485.

In the area of Medelungo Marine, instead, there is Torre Specchia Ruggeri that was built in 1568, has a squared basis and has no signs of embrasures. On the contrary, Torre San Foca has 12 embrasures, three on each side. Only in 1577 there was added a falconet (a small piece of artillery). Torre Roca Vecchia, today in decay, is similar to the other towers and was built on a rock close to the shore; Torre dell'Orso where are preserved some names of horse-dealers such as Giovanni Maria Corvino, Gennaro Stefano, Pietro Corsano and Giovanni Battista Cortese.

In Otranto there are the following towers: Torre S. Andrea that was rearranged and is now used as the Harbour-Office; Torre Fiumicelli that has always a pyramid-shaped trunk, is by the Alimini beach and its above floor has almost entirely collapsed; Torre del Serpe has a cylindrical shape, even it is slightly in decay, it was the old city lighthouse and is the symbol of Otranto; Torre dell'Orte has been transformed in a farm. Finally, Torre Sant'Emiliano that dominates the bay bearing the same name and has a part that collapsed.

Between Santa Cesarea and Castro there are other towers, for example Torre Minervino with its typical low and round shape and its walls of large thickness, shape that was used for castles has two towers and three embrasures "a filo di scarpa", on the top there are small fire mouths. Torre di Castro with a squared basis dominates a great area and has big loopholes (a narrow opening, done directly in the tower walls, that became wide towards the inside so that the defender could use arms remaining sheltered) able to fire on the beneath coast. Torre Lupo is located on a hill, it has a cylindric shape and a "torus marcapiano" (horizontal line, sometimes of bricks, on the façade of a house that mark the division between a floor and the other) The nearby Torre di Andriano has almost entirely collapsed.

Towards Leuca there are the following towers: Torre del Sasso is built on a height far from the coast, Torre Palane has two "tore marcapiano" that divide the lower floor from the upper one, and it has an embrasure, four fire mouths and small brackets.

Torre di Naspre was built in 1565, is on a cliff vertically on the sea, has a circular shape and is half destroyed. Torre di Specchia Grande has a circular shape, was built in 1550 but is now deeply rearranged. Torre di Novaglie was built during the reign of Pedro di Toledo and today is a ruin. Torre dell'Ominimorti is a wide and mighty casematte (a construction with openings towards the outside to be able to fire for defence) with a low and round shape. It was built in 1569; a "torus marcapiano" divides it in two parts: on the lower floor there are four big loopholes and on the upper floor there are the Barbetta batteries (platform located on the higher part of the tower to allow stones hurling).

From Leuca to Ugento there are Torre di Marchiello, with a cylindric shape, that is now a ruin; Torre Vado that on the upper floor has many small brackets interrupted by four embrasures that support a wonderful battlement. Torre Pali is located exactly in the middle of the sea; Torre Mozza has a cylindric shape and at the top still has brackets that hold the above floor. Torre S. Giovanni was built in 1565 and was attached by the Turks who tried to destroy it. There are signs of that battle still today.

Along the coast road from Gallipoli to Nardò there are the following towers: Torre Suda has a cylindric shape, a staircase that leads to the upper floor, ornamental brackets, a "torus marcapiano", an embrasure and a quadrangular construction added during a following period. Torre del Pizzo or del Cotriero is divided in two parts.

Torre S. Giovanni della pedata (kick) has three embrasures on each side and has a cylindric shape. Torre Sabea has a spatule outline mounted on the upper floor of the cylindrical building. Torre dell'Alto Lido has a pyramid shaped trunk and a wonderful staircase that leads to the upper floor. Torre del Fiume called Four Columns, is built where several spring of fresh-water flow. It is a small block-house with towers that are 16 meters high and their plan is pentagonal. They are divided in three floors and by two "tore marcapiano". Torre S. Caterina has a beautiful staircase and three embrasures on each side. Torre dell'Alto dominates the coast. Torre dell'Uluzzo has partly fallen down. Torre dell'Inserraglio has embrasures and fire mouths.

From Porto Cesareo to San Pietro in Bevagna rise: Torre Sant'Isidoro, Torre Squillace, Torre Porto Cesareo that is now the Customs Office, Torre Chianca, Torre Lapillo, Torre Castiglione, Torre Colimena, Torre Saline where on the first floor there were warehouses to keep salt. It has barrel vaults and hog-backed floor (ideal to drain salt humidity). Torre Baracco is based on a big reef, Torre dei Molini; Torre di San Pietro in Bevagna has a big size and its characteristic four point star shape.