Ugento: Nature, Museums and Messapian Traces

Coast, dunes and Mediterranean landscapes

One of Ugento’s defining natural areas lies in the Parco Naturale Regionale Litorale di Ugento. A nature trail leads from the coast inland. Along the way, it passes sandy and rocky stretches of coast, wet areas behind the dunes, marshland and Mediterranean maquis. The changing landscapes make the route a clear nature focus for planning your trip. If you do not want to consider the coast and hinterland separately, you can treat this trail as a distinct focus alongside Ugento’s historic sites.

Messapian traces and long periods of history

Messapian history is evident in Ugento, as is the town’s medieval past. Under Norman rule, the Castello di Ugento became a proper fortress towards the end of the 11th century. The best-preserved section of the Messapian fortification can be reached via a path beside a modern quarry and through a vineyard. This section of the fortification was probably built in the second half of the 4th century BC, was 4,900 metres long and enclosed an area of approximately 145 hectares. Historical orientation therefore brings together a Norman fortress and a considerably older fortification.

Archaeology between the palazzo and the necropolis

The Palazzo Colosso houses artefacts dating from the 6th century BC to the Early Middle Ages. The “Adolfo Colosso” Collection comprises materials found in Ugento and its surrounding area in the 19th century. The “Tomba dell’Atleta” was discovered in 1969 and has now been reconstructed in the Museo Civico di Archeologia. The visible necropolis today consists of around thirty shaft tombs cut into the underlying rock. This gives you a varied perspective on Ugento’s archaeology: from individual finds and a reconstructed tomb to the preserved form of a necropolis.

Museums in ecclesiastical and historic spaces

The Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta houses the Museo della Diocesi di Ugento in its underground burial chambers. The Museo Diocesano displays silver chalices, a parchment missal, statues of saints by Salento paper artists and paintings of successive bishops. The Sistema Museale di Ugento includes areas dedicated to the necropolises of Ugento, the cults of Messapia and coins. It is located at a necropolis where a museum with an ex situ exhibition has been established. In the Sistema Museale di Ugento, the Alfredo Colosso collection comprises around 794 finds dating from the 7th century BC to the Early Middle Ages.

Coast and points of orientation in the surrounding area

In the immediate vicinity of Ugento, Torre San Giovanni has a small marina for pleasure boats, dominated by a 16th-century tower on the seafront. Also nearby is a six-kilometre-long beach with fine sand. The Cripta del Crocefisso lies immediately south of the intersection of the roads to Melissano and Casarano. This means that, alongside museums and fortifications, coastal and orientation points are also available for planning your trip.

Other places

Tricase, Maglie, Galatina, Vignacastrisi, Casamassella, Aradeo, Collepasso, Torre Dell'orso

For the main travel overview: Lecce.