Benvenuti in Puglia
Phone: (+39) 349 8775450
Email:
info@masseriapalombaragrande.com
MASSERIA PALOMBARA GRANDE
C.da Palombaro s.n.
72017 OSTUNI (BR)
GPS: lat. 40.777 - lon. 17.575
The Via Trajan was an ancient Roman road. It was a variant of the Appian Road connecting Benevento (Beneventum) to Brindisi (Brundisium), built between 108 and 110 AD by the Emperor Trajan to promote the economic and agricultural development of the area. Even before, in 37 BC, Orazio described this road in his Iter Brundisinum (Saturae 1.5), chronicle of his journey with Mecenate, Cocceo, Eliodoro, Vario and Virgilio. As a further element of captivation, this ancient route was also the conclusive path of the Via Francigena: pilgrims from Northern Europe travelled along it to reach Brindisi and Otranto, the Apulian harbors to the Orient and the Holy Land. Surrounded by millenarian Olive Trees, this part of the Via Trajan keeps the intense and mesmerizing atmosphere of the past...
An ancient ravine - lama - with olive trees and Mediterranean maquis starts in Contrada Palombara Grande and ends on the close coast of Diana Marina. The ravines, specific of Apulia land, are typical karst formations, similar to small canyons, carved by rainwater. Running alongside the lama, en route through the olive groves and down towards the sea, surrounded by dry-stone walls and terraces, there are numerous caves used by the people of nearby Villanova, to hide and defend themselves from enemy attacks by sea. On the cave walls we can read the century long history of the rock itself through its stratifications, fossils and signs.
From 1994 the FEE, Federation for Environmental Education, has awarded Ostuni with the Blue Flag, world-renowned eco-label trusted by millions around the globe as symbol of sustainable development in freshwater and marine areas. Indeed, alongside the 15 kilometers of Ostuni coastline there are - untouched and differentiated - most of the best beaches of Puglia: the protected marine area of the Riserva Naturale di Torre Guaceto, the wild dunes and small inlets of Torre Pozzelle, the exclusive beaches of Rosa Marina and finally the long, wavy lines of sand dunes of Torre San Leonardo / Pilone. The unique diversity of Ostuni seaside, made up of gorgeous dunes, golden sand beaches and little rocky bay surrounded by Mediterranean vegetation, is enriched by the wetland of the Fiume Morelli, natural habitat for protected species of plants and animals, preserved and treasured in the Parco Naturale delle Dune Costiere.