Salve city of music, Maldives and elephants

Salve is a charming town on the Ionian coast in lower Salento, and includes the hamlet of Ruggiano and the marinas of Pescoluse, Torre Pali, Posto Vecchio and Lido Marini.

Its coastline has been a Blue Flag since 2009 and since 2016 the municipality has been part of the Borghi Autentici d’Italia association.

The name Salve expresses a greeting that is at the same time an invitation to visit and learn about its fascinating history.

The first settlements in this area date back to about sixty thousand years ago. This is evidenced by the discovery of various tools such as scrapers, points and bone fragments in the Montani Cave. It was later inhabited between the 16th and 15th centuries BC by the village of Spigolizzi near the farm of the same name and between 1440 BC and 470 BC by a Messapian village called “della Chiusa” near the Fano farm.

The city of Salve itself was founded according to legend by a Roman centurion, a certain Salvius, in 267 BC, from which its current name derives.

He built it on about thirty hectares of land, which he received following the customary division of conquered lands that Rome granted to victorious troops. Subsequently, the destruction of two nearby hamlets enlarged this center.

Among its monuments, it is worth mentioning: the Church of San Nicola Magno, from the 8th to the 16th century, where paintings from the 1600s are preserved and one of the most important monuments in Puglia, the Organ from 1628 built by Giovanni Battista Olgiati from Como and Tommaso Mauro from Muro Leccese. It is the oldest Organ in Puglia.

Other monuments are the former Capuchin convent and the 14th century castle which resisted the Turks in 1480 and the Algerian corsairs in 1537.

The historic centre is enhanced by the presence of the Torre dei Montano, built in 1563, which has a quadrangular layout with semicircular sentry boxes (small wooden or brick constructions, generally without fixtures, which offered shelter to one or two men and were mainly used for guard duties) at the four corners and arrow slits along the walls.

After the reclamation of the coastal marshes carried out in the 1930s, Salve's main attraction is its coastal towns: Pescoluse, Posto Vecchio, Torre Pali and Lido Marini, all characterised by long beaches and clear waters.

In the surroundings of Salve there are other naturalistic attractions. Ancient masserie like that of San Lasi. A typical example of rural architecture of the XVI century.

Furthermore, the course of ancient rivers has created real canyons. In the so-called Canale dei Fani, nature has gone wild, creating real natural sculptures, or the “Elephants of Salve”. A magical place to experience in amazement and wonder.