Santa Maria di Leuca is first and foremost the promontory on which stands the Basilica sanctuary of Santa Maria de Finibus Terrae and where we find the famous lighthouse, one of the most important in Italy. Leuca (or Marina di Leuca) is instead the area of the port below, a hamlet of the municipality of Castrignano del Capo. A very long staircase (296 steps) connects the two areas and embraces the Monumental Waterfall of the Apulian Aqueduct. De Finibus Terrae, Leuca is a watershed between land and sea and symbolically represents the point where everything begins and ends. The 19th century villas in Liberty style built near the sea are very characteristic. The founder was Villa Romasi dating back to the end of the 18th century which marked the beginning of the singular contest for the most beautiful and most imaginative villa in vogue among the aristocratic families of the following era. Worthy of note are Villa Meridiana in full Liberty style, Villa San Giovanni with its Egyptian ornamental motifs, Villa Episcopo or Chinese Pagoda which with the alternation and fusion of white and blue typical of traditional Chinese porcelain makes you dream of the Far East. And again Villa Mellacqua in neo-Gothic style looks like a castle and Villa Daniele also known as La Nave which is an explosion of arabesques. These are just some of the villas that arose in Leuca during the 19th century. Some of these stately homes also had a “bagnarola” on the sea (a couple are still visible today) that is, a stone or wooden construction similar to a small hut where ladies could indulge in the luxury of bathing away from prying eyes. Unfortunately during the Second World War the villas were stripped of all their metal parts for the manufacture of weapons and became a place of refuge for the displaced, suffering considerable impoverishment and going towards a slow and inevitable decline. Currently the villas are private and therefore closed to the public but about twenty of them can be visited during the event “Ville in festa” which is organized every year during the second weekend of May. You will surely have understood that the stately villas are one of the main attractions of the city so why not dedicate a nice photographic tour to them?
by Federica Giustiziero
Leave a comment