GROTTAGLIE 21.8 km from Sogno Salentino
It is a municipality in the province of Taranto, in Puglia. The municipality, among the most populous in the province, is known for the traditional production of artistic ceramics. Rising perfectly in the center between the provinces of Taranto and Brindisi, this has caused various debates in the past to decide which province it should belong to. Known for the cultivation of vineyards, Grottaglie as well as being nicknamed "City of Ceramics" is also known by the name of "City of grapes".
TARANTO 30 km from Sogno Salentino
Capital of the province of the same name, in Puglia Ancient Magna Graecia colony, it is the second municipality in the region by population, the first in Salento and is known as the "City of the two seas" due to its geographical position between of Mar Grande and Mar Piccolo, and the "Land of dolphins" for the historic settlement of a group of cetaceans beyond the islets of San Pietro and San Paolo. Taranto is also a Spartan city having been founded by the Spartans (Parteni) and resulting in the only colony of Sparta outside the territory of Greece. The climate is particularly mild and the cold currents coming from the north mitigate the warm air coming from the Mediterranean while the surrounding hills are often able to block the harsh perturbations guaranteeing a mild climate all year round.
LECCE 71 km from Sogno Salentino
Capital of the homonymous province in Puglia. Situated in an almost central position on the Salento peninsula, it rises 11 kilometers from the Adriatic coast and 23 from the Ionian coast and is the easternmost provincial capital of Italy. City of art in southern Italy, it is known as "the Florence of the South" or the "Florence of the Baroque": the very ancient Messapic origins and the archaeological remains of Roman domination mix in fact with the richness and exuberance of the typically seventeenth-century Baroque, of the churches and buildings in the centre, built in Lecce stone, a malleable limestone which is very suitable for working with a chisel. The architectural development and the decorative enrichment of the facades was particularly fruitful during the Kingdom of Naples and characterized the city in such an original way as to give rise to the definition of Leccese Baroque. It was among the six Italian cities candidate for European Capital of Culture for the year 2019, and was "Italian Capital of Culture" in 2015.
OSTUNI 55km from Sogno Salentino
Also known as the White City, due to its characteristic historic center which was once entirely painted with white lime, today only partially. Its territory is an integral part of southern Murgia, on the border with Salento. Renowned tourist center, from 1994 to 2015 it received the Blue Flag and the five sails of Legambiente for the cleanliness of the waters of its coast and for the quality of the services offered, becoming the city with the cleanest sea in Italy. Furthermore, in 2005, the Puglia Region recognized the town as a "tourist resort".
ALBEROBELLO 71 km from Sogno Salentino
It is a comune of the metropolitan city of Bari, in Puglia, in the center of the Valle d'Itria and the Terra dei Trulli. Famous for its characteristic houses called trulli which, since 1996, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The history of these very particular buildings is linked to an edict of the Kingdom of Naples which in the 15th century subjected every new urban settlement to a tribute. The counts of Conversano, owners of the territory on which Alberobello stands today, then forced the peasants sent to these lands to build their homes without using mortar, so that they could be configured as precarious buildings, easily demolished. Therefore, having to use only stones, the farmers found the simplest and most solid configuration in the round shape with a self-supporting domed roof, made up of overlapping stone circles. The domed roofs of the trulli are embellished with decorative pinnacles, the shape of which is inspired by symbolic, mystical and religious elements. They were made by the workers hired for the construction of the trullo and identified the craftsman. Based on the quality of the workmanship of the pinnacle, it was therefore possible to identify not only the craftsmanship of the builder, but also the value of the construction. A greater expense in the construction of the trullo therefore allowed to identify the more affluent families from the less wealthy ones. As for the symbols painted on the roofs of the trulli they often take on a religious meaning; sometimes they can represent signs of the zodiac. Pinnacle and painted symbol together formed a sort of civic identifier, as for a long time Alberobello was denied official recognition by the counts of Conversano.
MARTINA FRANCA 21.8 km from Sogno Salentino
Known for its Baroque architecture and the Valle d'Itria music festival of which it is the capital, it stands on the southern foothills of the Murgia, on the border of the provinces of Taranto, Brindisi and Bari. Located on the south-eastern hills of the Murgia, in a which offers splendid views over the Valle d'Itria, is located at an altitude of 431 meters above sea level and covers an area of 295 km², ranking 39th by order of extension among Italian municipalities. Martina Franca also appears to be, after Altamura, the most populous non-capital municipality of Puglia south of Bari. The fauna is characterized by the presence of hares, foxes, hedgehogs, robins, falcons and various nocturnal birds of prey (owl, owl, scops owl and barn owls), as well as a large community of bats (among which, in addition to the more common species, also the Rhinolophus hipposideros, the Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and the Rhinolophus mehelyi famous for their characteristic capacity of Echolocation), these small and delicate nocturnal mammals find refuge in the numerous caves of the mountain, they prove to be incredibly useful as they eliminate harmful insects for agriculture, and help to keep the fragile natural ecosystem intact as well as being an indication of an uncontaminated and water-rich habitat. The flora consists of stretches of wood and Mediterranean scrub where the cardoncello mushroom grows spontaneously, alternating with olive groves and vineyards including Verdeca, Bianco d'Alessano and Primitivo Tarantino. In the surrounding countryside there are numerous caves. In the hamlet of Monte Fellone, the Grotta Cuoco and the Grotta Monte Fellone are of considerable archaeological importance.
OTRANTO 108 km from Sogno Salentino
It is a town in the province of Lecce in Puglia. Located on the Adriatic coast of the Salento peninsula, it is the easternmost municipality in Italy: the cape of the same name, also called Punta Palascìa, south of the town, is the easternmost geographical point of the Italian peninsula. Initially a Greek-Messapian and Roman center, then Byzantine and later Aragonese, it developed around the imposing castle and the Norman cathedral. Archbishop's seat and important tourist centre, it gave its name to the Canale d'Otranto, which separates Italy from Albania, and to the Terra d'Otranto, an ancient circumscription of the Kingdom of Naples. In 2010 the ancient village was recognized as a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site as a Messenger of Peace Site. It is part of the club The most beautiful villages in Italy.
GALLIPOLI 72 km from Sogno Salentino
Known as the Pearl of the Ionian Sea, it is a municipality in the province of Lecce in Puglia. The city is located along the western coast of the Salento peninsula, jutting out into the Ionian Sea, and is divided into two parts: the village (new city) and the historic centre. It was, until 1927, the capital of the district. It has been a bishopric since the sixth century and, since 2015, has been president of the historic cities of the Mediterranean. The territory of the municipality of Gallipoli, which occupies an area of 40.35 km², overlooks the Ionian Sea with a coastline of about 20 km also including the towns of Torre del Pizzo, Baia Verde, Lido San Giovanni, Rivabella and Lido Conchiglie. The urban center, located 12 m above sea level, is made up of the old city, located on a limestone island connected to the mainland by a seventeenth-century bridge, and the village, which houses the more modern part of the city. The territory borders the municipality of Sannicola to the north, the municipalities of Alezio and Matino to the east, the municipality of Taviano to the south and the Ionian Sea to the west. The municipality is 37 km from Lecce. The regional natural park Isola di Sant'Andrea and the coast of Punta Pizzo falls within the municipality of Gallipoli, established by regional law n. 20 of 10 July 2006.
POLIGNANO A MARE 94 km from Sogno Salentino
The oldest nucleus of the town stands on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Its marine caves are of notable naturalistic interest and historically important are the historic center and the remains of Roman domination. Among the latter, the bridge of the Via Traiana, still viable, which crosses Lama Monachile. Since 2008, Polignano a Mare has always received the Blue Flag, recognition conferred by the Foundation for Environmental Education to European coastal resorts that meet quality criteria relating to bathing water parameters and the service offered in relation to parameters such as the cleanliness of the beaches and tourist ports. It is also known for being the birthplace of Domenico Modugno
BARI 117 km from Sogno Salentino
Capital of the metropolitan city of the same name and of the Puglia region.
It is the ninth Italian municipality by population, third in the South after Naples and Palermo and first in the region. Its metropolitan area is the sixth most populous in Italy after Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin and Palermo. It is known for being the city where the relics of St. Nicholas rest. This condition has made Bari and its basilica one of the favorite centers of the Orthodox Church in the West. Bari has a solid mercantile tradition and has always been a focal point in the field of trade and political-cultural contacts with Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Its port is the largest passenger port on the Adriatic Sea. The Fiera del Levante has been held in Bari since 1930. More recently the city has become the seat of the secretariat for Pan-European Corridor 8.
MATERA 104 km from Sogno Salentino
From 1663 to 1806 it was the capital of the Giustizierato of Basilicata in the Kingdom of Naples. During this period the city experienced an important economic, commercial and cultural growth. Known with the names of "Città dei Sassi" and "Città Sotterranea", it is known for the historic Sassi districts, which constitute one of the oldest inhabited centers in the world. The Sassi were recognized in 1993 World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the first site in southern Italy to receive this recognition. Matera is among the cities decorated for Military Valor for the War of Liberation because it was awarded the Silver Medal for Military Valor for the sacrifices of its populations during the Second World War, having been the first city in southern Italy to rise up in arms against Nazi fascism. In 1954, the city was proclaimed Civitas Mariae by an archiepiscopal decree. St. John Paul II called it the city of the Visitation and the Magnificat. On 17 October 2014 Matera was designated, together with Plovdiv, as European Capital of Culture 2019, the first city in southern Italy to receive this title.