Porto Selvaggio
Porto Selvaggio
Already with a law of 1980 the Puglia Region wanted to protect this area of particular landscape, historical and environmental charm, establishing the Natural Park of Porto Selvaggio extended for 432 hectares of coast of which 268 of wooded area including Aleppo pine trees. , Italic pines and maritime pines. These pines are the result of reforestation carried out with state funds in the 1950s and which actually gave birth to the Park. Along the avenues of the Park there are also common cypresses and along the coast various acacias protect the wood from the saltiness. Soon many spontaneous undergrowth plants were added to the trees such as myrtle, sea cistus and wild asparagus and mint. There is no shortage of flowers such as iris, broom and orchid. The southern border of Porto Selvaggio coincides with the town of Santa Caterina and with the Alto promontory. The most important cove of Porto Selvaggio is wedged in the woods in a small pebbly beach, without real sand. To the left and to the right it is bordered by a low cliff that becomes higher and higher and from which bathers often use to dive. Here the sea has a particularly cold current of fresh water, as there is an ancient spring nearby that can also be reached by swimmers, if you do not fear the water temperatures gradually colder as you get closer to the source. The waters of Porto Selvaggio are clear and crystalline with bottoms made of rocks and ravines. Near the inlet, along the left side, there is also a small cave born from karst phenomena, reachable by swimming.
Along a series of paths that cut through the wood, bordered by a cliff that is reflected in a crystalline sea, you can then reach the Bay of Uluzzo, a Paleolithic site with stone artefacts and the remains of large mammals (rhinos, deer, bovids, equidae) of such great importance as to give the name to the important Palaeolithic complex of the "Uluzziano".
Immediately after, you will come across the first of the many caves that this stretch of coast is rich in, the Capelvenere cave, which takes its name from a maidenhair fern plant. In this cave artifacts have been found that date back to the first Messapian, Roman and medieval settlements.
Climbing along a path, for many sections stepped, you reach the Torre dell'Alto, one of the most powerful Aragonese fortifications built to defend the Salento coast, now home to the marine biology museum. The spike of rock on which it stands, which ends with a 50-meter sheer drop into the sea, is called Ravine of the Damned because it is a precipice where, in the nineteenth century, a girl who wanted to escape from the "jus primae voluntarily sought death noctis ”(right of the first night) imposed by the cruel GianGerolamo Acquaviva, count of Conversano and duke of Nardò, the infamous“ Guercio di Puglia ”.
From the Tower starts a path that overlooks the small beach of Porto Selvaggio, where the water is a brilliant turquoise, also aided in this by the fresh water springs we have talked about, born from the outlet of the underground streams typical of a karst territory such as is this stretch of the Apulian coast.
