The Salento remains a land rich in resources waiting to be discovered. Just when you think, after so many years, that you have the whole area in your grasp, thinking you know most of this marvellous coastline, someone points out a peculiarity unknown to you and you immediately start to rewind the tape of territorial expertise. One example above all is the Marmitta dei Giganti di Porto Badisco, found on the eastern coast of Salento between Otranto and Porto Badisco. Now some claim it is a bombard ball used in past centuries by Saracen pirates to bombard the nearby Tower of Sant Emiliano, I want to think of it instead as a characteristic and evocative sphere of rock eroded by the natural elements over the course of time and deposited like a big magic egg testifying to nature shaping its landscape with often surprising results. Reaching Porto Badisco"s Marmitta dei Giganti is, however, an arduous undertaking considering the high rocky ridge, so once you have parked your car on the coast road, all you have to do is put on your hiking boots and set off along this fascinating, steep path among rocks mixed with Mediterranean scrub that descend from the top of the Torre Sant Emiliano down to the sea. Once you reach (not without difficulty) the foot of the coastline, this spectacle of nature opens up before your eyes. Immersed in a kind of natural well lies this spherical stone, perfectly polished by the weather, and the emotions you feel are really strong in front of such a spectacle of nature. A lively piece of advice, take advantage when you decide to reach the Marmitta dei Giganti in Porto Badisco of a calm, windless day, because otherwise, given the position, a particularly rough sea could create enough problems that it would be better to avoid, especially if you are on holiday. There is nothing more to add except to emphasise and reiterate that you never cease to discover a magical land that is the Salento... have a good summer.
Last update: 07/01/2023, Tonio Viva