{"id":7626,"date":"2022-05-20T14:33:48","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T12:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.callistos-hotel.it\/?p=7626"},"modified":"2022-06-10T17:22:25","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T15:22:25","slug":"the-most-beautiful-villages-of-salento-specchia-presicce-and-castro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.callistos-hotel.it\/en\/news\/the-most-beautiful-villages-of-salento-specchia-presicce-and-castro\/","title":{"rendered":"The most beautiful villages of Salento: Specchia, Presicce and Castro"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7626\" class=\"elementor elementor-7626 elementor-6074\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-428d9ad0 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-gap-beside-yes elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-column-vertical-align-stretch\" data-id=\"428d9ad0\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-extended\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-70c198a0\" data-id=\"70c198a0\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3a32f297 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3a32f297\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.18.0 - 20-12-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>Salento has always been considered the <strong>Gate of the East<\/strong>, as it has been the crossroads of many cultures and populations for centuries, including <strong>Aragonese, Swabians, Greeks, Normans, Arabs, Angevins and Romans.<\/strong><\/p><p>Moreover, the Salento peninsula is the heel of the Italian boot and it divides the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea.<\/p><p>Here there are also <strong>ancient villages<\/strong>, which are authentic treasure of good food, culture, art and history.<\/p><h2>The village of Specchia<\/h2><p>Located in the province of Lecce, the village of Specchia dates back to the ninth century and it was the first small settlement of shepherds and farmers, who came here to defend themselves from the attacks of Saracen troops.<\/p><p>The name of this place cames from the <strong>pile of dry rocks<\/strong> arranged in conical shape (called precisely \u201c<strong>specchie<\/strong>\u201d), used as lookout posts or as defense buildings by the Messapians.<\/p><p>The <strong>historic center of Specchia<\/strong>, insted, is one of the most interesting of Salento, as characterized by narrow streets interspersed with flights of stairs, the result of a spontaneous architecture born between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries still perfectly preserved, so much so that the main road still has the name \u201crua\u201d, term used during the Angevins\u2019s domination.<\/p><p>Here there is also the <strong>Risolo Castle,<\/strong> a fortified building of the sixteenth century and property of the noble families of the village. At his back, between courtyards and alleys, the life of the inhabitants takes place \u00a0almost outdoors.<\/p><p>A few steps from the castle there are the <strong>church of St Nicola<\/strong>, the <strong>Black Franciscans monastery<\/strong> and the underground oil mill.<\/p><h2>The village of Presicce<\/h2><p>The village of Presicce offers postcard-worthy scenarios, as you can find dry stone walls, Baroque buildings, fortified farms and centuries-old olive trees.<\/p><p>All these elements, obviously, have made the aforementioned location among the most beautiful villages of our country.<\/p><p>The origins of its name are still uncertain: some believe that it derives from the Latin term &#8220;<strong>Praesidium<\/strong>&#8221; (ie a military garrison against the Saracens), while others think it is due to the particular abundance of water that gave rise to the first human settlements of the seventh century.<\/p><p>The historic center of Presicce is characterized by <strong>sixteenth-century courtyard houses<\/strong> known as &#8220;li vecchi curti&#8221; and <strong>noble palaces<\/strong>.<\/p><p>Each of them has its own underground oil mill, courtyard or garden.<\/p><p>Worthy of equal importance is the <strong>Arditi palace,<\/strong> the marine aedicule and the seventeenth-century hanging garden that gives a touch of green to the <strong>Doge\u2019s Palace.<\/strong><\/p><p>The life of the place revolves around oil, to which is dedicated an annual festival called \u201cthe Colors of Oil\u201d.<\/p><p>The event usually takes place around mid-August and also includes a concert with the performance of famous national singers.<\/p><h2>The village of Castro<\/h2><p>Castro is an <strong>ancient fishing village<\/strong> located seven kilometers from Santa Cesarea Terme.<\/p><p>Its name derives both from the term \u201c<strong>castrum<\/strong>\u201d (from the Latin fortress), and from the presence of a <strong>temple<\/strong> dedicated to the <strong>goddess Minerva<\/strong>, of which now no trace has remained.<\/p><p>This place is also divided into two parts: the <strong>medieval one<\/strong> (&#8220;Casciu de sus&#8221;) is located on a promontory 98 meters above sea level, while the port is further down and is called &#8220;Casciu de sutta&#8221;where there are several typical restaurants serving fresh fish dishes.<\/p><p>In Castro Superiore there are a <strong>Romanesque cathedral<\/strong> (the Church of the Annunciation) and an <strong>Aragonese Castle<\/strong>, built during the twelfth century on the ancient remains of an Byzantine fortress.<\/p><p>In 1480 it was destroyed by the arrival of Turkish troops on the Apulian coast and its reconstruction took place thanks to the intervention of some local noble families, who took care of the house.<\/p><p>The castle is currently the seat of the \u201c<strong>Museo Civico Antonio Lazzari<\/strong>\u201d and houses several archaeological finds.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Salento has always been considered the Gate of the East, as it has been the crossroads of many cultures and populations for centuries, including Aragonese, Swabians, Greeks, Normans, Arabs, Angevins and Romans. Moreover, the Salento peninsula is the heel of the Italian boot and it divides the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea. Here there [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The most beautiful villages of Salento: Specchia, Presicce and Castro - Callistos Hotel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Live an authentic holiday in Salento, discovering some of the most beautiful villages of Salento: Specchia, Presicce and Castro.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.callistos-hotel.it\/en\/news\/the-most-beautiful-villages-of-salento-specchia-presicce-and-castro\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The most beautiful villages of Salento: Specchia, Presicce and Castro - 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