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| Boom time for Apulia’s Salento on the meetings and incentives market |
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The Salento peninsula is a large region with distinctive long and unspoilt stretches of coastline. It is a land of ancient and deep-rooted traditions, the inspiration for many rural, folk and craft-based activities. The Baroque style dominates its art and architecture, especially in the capital Lecce, while the region’s historic farmhouses converted into luxury hotels further add to the charm of this destination.
The Salento peninsula, on the southern tip of Apulia, has recently become one of Italy’s most successful tourist areas, and is increasingly an alternative destination to the ever-popular Tuscany. A quick glance at all it has to offer certainly explains its appeal. Art is very important to the region, which boasts some truly impressive Baroque sites, mainly in its capital Lecce, Galatina, Nardò and Gallipoli. The coast is breathtaking, with beaches interspersed with cliffs and grottoes, surrounded by two seas, the Ionian and the Adriatic, which meet at the Santa Maria di Leuca headland.
Until the expansion and upgrading of Bari and Brindisi airports a few years ago, the region of Salento was rather inaccessible: although this represented an obstacle to its development as a torist destination, its relative isolation saved it from mass tourism, and thereby allowed local traditions to be preserved.
It is precisely these traditions that offer so many cues for creative programmes, such as those put together by Mitt Puglia, a young DMC based in Lecce. They include energetic “urban hiking” around Lecce’s old Baroque centre, with stops at the traditional craft workshops where artisans demonstrate various artistic techniques, like making papier mâché, carving local Lecce stone and creating traditional Christmas nativity scenes, offering visitors the chance to try their hand.
Nearby, a visit to the distinctive town of Grottaglie is a chance to discover pottery, another one of Salento's great crafts. This art has ancient origins, as can be seen in the quarter around the 14th-century castle, where all the great potters have their workshops, most of which are carved out of the tuff. Here, groups get a couple of hours of teaching on how to mould clay, use the lathe, and apply the rules on traditional decoration, using shades of green, ochre and blue. |
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LECCE AND SALENTO AT A GLANCE
Number of Hotel Rooms
Lecce
5-star: 114 rooms
4-star: 448 rooms
3-star: 184 rooms
Salento
5-star: 124 rooms
4-star: 2,044 rooms
3-star: 3,522 rooms
Airports
Brindisi Airport, 40km from Lecce
Flights connecting the following European cities: London, Zurich
Bari Airport, 155km from Lecce
Flights connecting the following European cities: Cologne, Frankfurt, London, Munich, Moscow, Stuttgart, Zurich
• HOTELS
• CONFERENCE AND EVENTS VENUES
• DMCs
• DESTINATION BUREAUS
Lecce Convention Bureau
Salento Congressuale |
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 Make contact
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 Country folk, dancers and private detectives
The magnificent sea and landscape, and the tiny villages with their typical architecture, are the setting for many of the programmes arranged by local DMCs. Mitt Puglia, for example, organises an activity with a seafaring theme: guests are split into groups and set off from the port of San Foca (15km south of Lecce) aboard the typical barcacce, fishing boats captained by expert local fishermen, to compete in contests using only traditional fishing lines.
The DMC Mille e una Puglia, on the other hand, organises competitive countryside-based activities, ranging from grape harvests to milking, followed by making dairy products, or learning to identify vegetables and herbs, combined with an Apulian cookery course. The setting for these activities is the hinterland with its masserie, historical fortified farmsteads where the courtyards are used for tests of skill, tastings and dinners, accompanied by music and pizzica dancers, who also teach the visitors this ancient art form.
For the evening, alternatives to the classic gala dinner include Mille e una Puglia’s A Thrilling Dinner: in a game directed by an actor playing an investigator, guests form teams, and between courses, try to work out “whodunit”, suggesting motives for the crime. There are two alternative locations available, both providing a fantastic backdrop: the Grand Hotel Tenuta Moreno in Mesagne, a splendid architectural complex built around an 18th century farmhouse, and Corigliano d’Otranto castle, which dates back to the 14th century. |
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 The best of local and international style
Two of the Salento area’s biggest conference hotels differ greatly in terms of setting and style: the Grand Hotel Tiziano e dei Congressi, in Lecce, is a modern international-standard location, which opened a new wing with 70 guestrooms in 2006, bringing the current total to 273; the other, the Grand Hotel Masseria Santa Lucia, is located near the “white” town of Ostuni, and formed around a converted rural building; it has a conference room with a capacity of 1,200.
The charm of the old farmsteads, transformed into splendid small hotels, all with meeting areas, spas and leisure facilities like swimming pools and golf courses, is in fact the hallmark of the region’s accommodation. Two examples are the stunning Masseria Relais del Cardinale, located halfway between Bari and Brindisi, an 18th century construction set in an olive grove just a few minutes from the sea and now operating as a luxury 5-star, and the nearby Masseria Torre Maizza, opened in August 2006, a 5-star property with spa, cookery school and private yacht available to guests. |
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 Liquid gold
Golden olive oil is the inspiration for post-conference events arranged by Cotrapos, a consortium of olive-growers and oil producers, set up to promote Salento’s extra virgin olive oil on international markets.
The activities take place in the area known as Grecia Salentina, made up of nine villages – Calimera, Castrignano dei Greci, Corigliano d’Otranto, Martano, Martignano, Melpignano, Soleto, Sternatia and Zollino – which are part of a territory whose ethnic dialect, traditions and culture still bear witness to ancient Greek influence.
The landscape is sculpted with age-old olive groves and oil presses, whose architecture dates back to different centuries. Visits take in the oldest, dug underground to protect the produce from sudden temperature changes, the 20th century sites and the new generation of “techno” presses. These include the Agricola Nuova Generazione plant at Martano, whose well-stocked gourmet store sells typical local products and an innovative line of cosmetics.
Depending on the season, the tours are combined with different activities: guest can pick olives, press them and make their own oil, or take part in professional tastings, learn about Salento cuisine, or savour some real local menus at lunch, washed down with local red wines, such as Negramaro and Primitivo del Salento, in the shade of the olive groves.
December 2007 |
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