Come and discover the thousand souls of Salento
“I love Salento, because here we are in the East and in the West, where we perceive Athens and Rome, where we admire the mountains of Epirus and the Lecce Baroque, because here the end of the world is the beginning of another”- (Edoardo Winspeare). So Edoardo Winspeare, the director who has dedicated all his art and his life to telling the story of Salento, capturing the essence of being a land in the midst of three seas, a melting pot of many cultures, foreign cultures who were friends here, neighbours, brothers.
Being Salento means to know that the wonders of the Earth are only on loan, so you have to treat them well and share them with others, it means to drink wine and break bread always with others. Hospitality is a sacred bond for us.
The sea is the glue that has always united us with the rest of the world, even since the epic heroes. The most beautiful and precious things come on a ship.
This land, originally inhabited by the Messapians, was conquered by the Greeks and Romans, by the French, by the Spaniards, by the Venetians … Many times, those who arrived were the conqueror who, as often happens, was conquered by the beauty of our territory, so fertile, so charming. Much more often, however, the meetings took place in a peaceful way and without great clamour, among the common people. Merchants, artisans, workers, bankers, faithful and devotees, crusaders from Turkey, Arabia, Jerusalem, Spain, France, Northern Italy, stopping in the ports of Salento, Otranto, Gallipoli, Leuca, were refreshed and then they left, spreading the culture of Salento throughout the world. Anyone who has come here has left a small sign and from this comes our multicultural, eclectic soul. Salento is, in fact, East and West at the same time, is hybrid and all its souls coexist beautifully.
Even today, hospitality belongs to our DNA, indeed now that every place can be reached in a few hours by plane, we welcome people from every part of the globe and it’s like being really at the centre of the world. We are still here to offer the best of our land, break bread, drink wine, give moments of sharing.
Plan now for your next holiday in one of our hotels in Gallipoli and Otranto. Come, new crusaders and conquerors, and let your soul become part of Salento, and Salento, become part of your soul.
