The experience

An archaeological walk among the places and stories of the Salento hinterland

Trace back with us the history of the most ancient “salentini” through the traces carved in stone, which still millennia later continue to question us with their fascinating mystery.

“Salento of Stone and Land,” is an open-air journey of discovery of Puglian civilization. The “Massi della Vecchia” are an evocative geo-site linked since prehistoric times to the use of stone: this is where your archaeological excursion in the Salento hinterland begins, between the towns of Giuggianello, Minervino di Lecce and Giurdignano, with a landscape of dry stone walls, pajare, menhirs and dolmens strictly made of stone, but also of fairy tales, myths and legends.

Hercules, nymphs, and young shepherd boys are just a few of the characters who, between folk beliefs and classical literature, “traverse” these places. With us you can hear folk stories and anecdotes that flourished in these parts and were passed down from generation to generation in the long evenings that brought families together in the warmth of the hearth. They will be the protagonists of the theatricalized tale that will accompany your visit, making you fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere, bordering between the real world and the magical one, that once enveloped these lands.

In the Salento hinterland among dry stone walls, crypts and oil mills guardians of memories and legends

You will proceed by following the path in the excavated rock, along the thread of stories related to the sacred places built in this hidden strip of Salento, such as the Byzantine crypt of St. John. But there will be no shortage of workplaces such as the underground oil mills, where once, from the multitude of olive trees that characterized the Salento landscape, the “lampante oil” indispensable to power lamps was extracted when electricity did not yet exist in homes. We will also tell you this page of Salento history.

Among land and stones, “cunti” and songs, our walk will take you to the roots of Salento history and culture, among physical places, memories and imaginary tales.