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Salve's
Coast
History and Nature
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The city name means a greeting and at the same time an invitation to
visit its beautiful places, to know the fascinating history of its
civilization and to enjoy the exciting vitality of the seaside.
The first human settlements in this area were 60000 years ago. The
scrapers, different tools, and bone fragments found in Grotta Montani
bear witness to this period.
A group of Australian archaeologists from the Sidney University during
an excavation found the messapic village of the “Chiusa”, near the Fano
farm, that was inhabited from 1440 b.C to 470 a.C.; the village of
Spigolizzi, near the farms “Spigolizzi” and “Profichi”, was founded in
the Middle Bronze Age (16th-15th century b.C.)
According to the legend, Salve was founded by the roman centurion
Salvius in 267 b. C. Subsequently it grew large after the destruction of
two ancients country houses nearby.
In the 15th
century, in order to defend themselves from the Turkish attacks, Salve’s
inhabitants built a small but very well equipped fortification that let
them resist barbaric assaults.
It was in this period that the Spanish decided to begin to build the
coastal towers. The tower located in Salve, Torre Pali, was finished in
1563.
Built on an isolated rock, surrounded by the sea, twenty meters far from
the shore, the tower was bound to the dry land by a narrow walling bridge.
In 1628 Salve’s people bought an organ for the Church. The organ was made
by Giovan Battista Olgiati from Como and Tommaso Mauro from Muro and
became soon the pride and boast of the whole town. It is the oldest organ
in Apulia and one of the oldest in Italy and today it is still working
perfectly.
Today, after the marsh reclamation on our coast, that began in the 30s’,
the main attraction of the area are the beaches with their clear water and
golden sand: Pescoluse, Posto Vecchio, Torre Pali and Lido Marini.
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Salve’s Church of San Nicola
Magno conserves one of the most important monuments of Apulia: the
monumental Organ Olgiati- Mauro of 1628, the oldest working organ of the
region.
Inside the Mother Church we can also admire the wonderful vault with its
stucco-works by Cesare Penna Junior and valuable canvas of ‘600 and
contemporary ones.
Very important is the basilica’s crypt with its beautiful frescos,
situated by the Fani Farm, and the Neolithic village from the Bronze
Age, found near the “Chiusa”.
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Salve’s historic centre is
characterized by elegant Towers, such as the Montano and De Notariis
ones, but the symbol of Salve’s buildings is without any doubt "Palazzo
Ceuli", characterized by its baroque staircase, planned in the ‘700 by
the architect Palma.
Very ancient are the underground oil-presses (hypogeum) and the typical
“court houses” in via Marsini and via Persico.
The rocky churches, the Capuchin Monastery of 1580 and the wonderful
Sanctuary of Santa Marina di Ruggiano, represent the religious heritage
of our ancient and meaningful past. |
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Dipped in a landscape
rich of history and culture, Salve carefully preserves the
traditions of an ancient peasant civilization. Not far from the
historic centre, walking through small country lanes, it’s easy to
find the typical “Pajare" (dry stone's
constructions), or the "furni" and the "ajere". These are
examples of poor and simple architecture, built only with stones
in a very ancient age, when the only richness was to work in the
countryside. |
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Among wide scrub areas
(the “macchia mediterranea”), delimited by dry-stone walls, you
can find fortified farms, which have been transformed into
agritourism farms where people can taste the simple and genuine
food of ancient times.
Thanks to the mild weather and moist winds blowing from the sea
the area is rich of olive-trees, that are typical of this rural
landscape.
Going toward south-west the countryside slops down to the sea. |
For further information on the history, art and culture,
nature, on the farms and pajare, and on the traditions of Salve,
please visit the Website of the Salve’s community
"SalveWeb.it".
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