Salve (
Salentino
Salentino () is a dialect of the Extreme Southern Italian ( in Italian) spoken in the Salento peninsula, which is the southern part of the region of Apulia at the southern "heel" of the Italian peninsula.
Overview
Salentino is a dialect of th ...
: ) is a town and ''
comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' of 4,546 inhabitants of the
province of Lecce
The province of Lecce (; Salentino: ) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecce. The province is called the "Heel of Italy". Located on the Salento peninsula, it is the second most-populous province in Ap ...
, in the region of
Apulia
Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...
, south-east
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
History
Several archaeological digs have shown
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
settlements in the territory of Salve. The origin of the inner city can be traced back to the Roman centurion Salvius, who in 267 BC was granted the land as a reward.
Walls were built in the 9th century AD to defend against
Saracen
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...
raids. Other extant fortifications were built in the 15th century as a defence against Ottoman raids.
In 1563 the stone tower of
Torre Pali was completed. It was erected by Spaniards along with many others on the
Salento
Salento (; Salentino dialect, Salentino: ''Salentu''; Griko language, Salento Griko: ) is a Cultural area, cultural, List of historical states of Italy, historical, and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apuli ...
coast. The tower, which rises from the sea, is about west of
Santa Maria di Leuca
Santa Maria di Leuca, often spelled simply Leuca is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Castrignano del Capo, in the Salento peninsula (Apulia), southern Italy.
A part of the town once belonged to the ''comune'' of Gagliano del Capo.
The territo ...
. The towers were used as a lookout for Turkish ships and to raise the alarm quickly throughout the Salento by lighting beacons. A village in the commune is named after the tower.
The great reclamation of
Ionian coasts of Salento began in 1930. It ended after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Owing to these works, it was possible to develop the beaches on the coast and summer tourism has developed, which today is one of the mainstays of the local economy.
The village has traces of an old Castle (now transformed into houses) which resisted several Turkish sieges. Its parish church dedicated to the patron Saint Nicholas, was decorated by Cesare Penna of Lecce, the younger, an artist of the Lecce Baroque style. The church's historic organ was built in 1628 by G. B. Olgiati of Como and T. Mauro of Muro Leccese. There are also two huge paintings by local sculptor, Vito Russo.
References
External links
Video realized with drone in Pescoluse Beach, Marine of Salve, ApuliaPhotos of Pescoluse, SalvePescoluse Marina
Cities and towns in Apulia
Localities of Salento
{{Puglia-geo-stub