Surroundings
Among the beautiful landscapes of the Ionian-Taranto coastal area, Torre Colimena is a place where you can admire the spectacle of wild nature and huge expanses of golden sand and crystal clear sea. It is the ideal place for family vacations in complete relaxation a few steps from the sea, in an environment of yesteryear, embraced by unspoiled nature.
Torre Colimena is a small seaside village, a seaside hamlet of the Messapian town of Manduria. It takes its name from the sixteenth-century Saracen watchtower which was part of a defensive system of coastal towers built all over Salento to defend the peninsula from Turkish raids.
Everywhere, in this area of the Ionian coast of Salento, a crystal clear sea dominates in a stretch of land where high dunes and endless beaches of white sand meet cliffs and overhangs.
Here you can go jogging, birdwatching, surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, horseback riding, trekking and biking completely immersed in an unspoiled nature. From here it is also easy to leave for the most interesting cultural and tourist destinations of Salento such as Manduria, Lecce, Punta Prosciutto, Porto Cesareo and Gallipoli up to Santa Maria di Leuca.
Soft sand and a sloping seabed give way to jagged cliffs. The Bay of Torre Colimena offers a varied landscape and is home to the ancient Salina dei Monaci, one of the most important saltworks in Salento, active until the early 1800s.
It is a natural oasis and protected area, established to protect the biodiversity of flora and fauna of particular interest, where pink flamingos, herons and stilt birds fly around. It is the perfect place for birdwatchers!
This wonderful oasis rich in history and natural beauty can only be reached on foot. Behind the Salina dei Monaci, the dunes covered in Mediterranean maquis give way to a long beach of soft sand with a sloping seabed that is safe even for children. It is never crowded, not even in August, and is ideal for relaxing while listening to the sounds and breathing in the scents of an amazing nature.
A town of Messapian origins located in an area rich in natural beauty between the provinces of Taranto, Lecce and Brindisi. This is the production area of the Primitivo di Manduria wine, which can be tasted directly in the cellars and typical restaurants throughout the town.
The old town centre is worth a visit, with its small and large architectural and artistic gems and narrow streets, the 15th-century Mother Church, the medieval Jewish Quarter, the Clock Tower and several aristocratic palaces, including Palazzo Imperiali-Filotico, built on the ruins of a medieval castle.
Also not to be missed are the Parco Archeologico delle Mura Messapiche, the largest Messapian necropolis ever discovered, with over 2,500 tombs, and the Fonte Pliniano described by Pliny the Elder in his 'Historia Naturalis'.
