SPORT AND NATURE
WALKING ON BORGO CANONICA ITINERARY
Thanks to the electric cars used in the territory, the air is even more pure and clean, just like it used to be years and years ago. The nature lovers can take long walks where the scenarios deeply change from season to season and the typical fragrance of the altopiano, with many different shapes, changes into new flavours too. For those who love sports there are specific dedicated areas for reading and do some exercise surrounded by nature.
BY BOAT IN SEA CAVES
The conformation of the coast is full of caves and caverns filled with light and colours. The corrosive action of water, wind and the Karst phenomenon created a charming setting: the sea caves with its natural interest. The boat trip allows you to appreciate the purity of one of the most renowned water of Italy. The most famous cave is undoubtedly the ”Grotta Palazzese Cave“, quoted by d’Alembert and Diderot and reproduced by famous engraver Jean Desprez in 1778.
THE “BLU DIPINTO DI BLU”
If a magical place where the blue is the bluest exists, that place is surely Polignano a Mare, near Bari; a magical borough where the sea is the protagonist. The city is in fact now famous for the Red Bull Cliff Diving, the show-event that hosts athletes from all over the world to dive at a 27 metres height. The sea and sky colour have more connections with this coastal location, that receives the “Bandiera Blu” since 2008, a recognition that grants its visitors and inhabitants the water baths high quality and the services. Walking on the Polignano seafront, you can meet the Domenico Modugno statue that smiles at his native city; a homage to the singer that reached the peak of his success thanks to the song “Volare”. This is not all: the deep and charming blue of the Polignano a Mare sea is enjoyable also by boat, by passing through the famous marine caves.
THE WORLD’S BRIGHTEST ALABASTER
A Karst underground cavities complex, of high touristic interest, one of the beautiest and most spectacular in Italy. The caves visit is spread on a 3 km route: an extraordinary guided excursion, at a 70 metres deep, in a stupefying scenario, where caves with fantastic names, canyons, deep abysses, fossils, stalactites, stalagmites, incredibly shaped and colourful concretions tickle children and adults’ fantasy. The magnificence does not stop and each spot can seduce the mind and steal the gaze to end with the silent wonder of the last star: the beautiful cave of the underground system, the Grotta Bianca (the white cave), so defined for its rich and white alabaster, the “brightest in the world”.
THE POMONA GARDENS IN CISTERNINO
In the intersection between the white boroughs of Cisternino and Locorotondo and not too far from the Adriatic Sea, the botanical conservatory “I Giardini di Pomona” is located, where the biodiversity shines for its thousands and more varieties of ancient fruit plants from all over the world, many of which have been saved by extinction. The conservatory’s ten hectares, maintained with an organic method, match the nature preservation and the low impact touristic welcome, in a particularly charming landscape context. Many varieties of fruit trees compose a historical botanic walk with traditional and rare plants.
The Ficus Carica has a prestigious dedicated collection that, with its 560 varieties, is one of the most important of the Mediterranean basin.
TORRE GUACETO NATURE RESERVE
The Nature Reserve of Torre Guaceto is an Apulian protected marine area, situated on the Adriatic coast of the high Salento (27 km from Brindisi); the reserve encloses a consistent diversity of habitats and landscapes on a moderately large surface. Mediterranean patch, junipers, sand dunes, swamps with amphibia and migratory birds, golden beaches, a unique sea for its biological varieties. During the summer months, it is possible to visit the reserve with expert guides, nonetheless to benefit from the shuttle service to reach the pristine beach.