IN THE DISCOVER LEUCA

The inhabitants of the place know them like the back of their hands, they love to juggle, show the paths, the shortcuts, the most accessible holes to move on; tourists, for their part, love to explore them, after having overcome the initial amazement, and giving vent to curiosity and the desire for knowledge mixed with adventure. The cliffs of Santa Maria di Leuca represent one of the most fascinating attractions of the place: so different from the comfortable and relaxing beaches, but so spectacular, mysterious and wild.

Along the coasts of the Leucano area it is therefore possible to admire the ‘great beauty’ that nature has given us, with high and jagged cliffs in which, over the centuries, wonderful karst caves have been created to admire, explore and study. There are about thirty, each with its own natural characteristics, its own historical wealth.

It is particularly interesting to be able to visit the caves at the most suitable time of day to admire the plays of light and the colors that the sun’s rays create inside them, penetrating between the openings and cracks: it is advisable, in fact, to dedicate the exploration of the large caves located along the eastern side, more wild and inaccessible, and on the contrary visit in the afternoon the caves of the western Leucana coast, more accessible and sinuous.

These caves, in addition to being magnificent natural spectacles, preserve important historical artifacts and evidence of the passage of man, even very ancient ones. Within them, in fact, Neolithic finds were found, such as bones, tools, objects dating back to the Stone Age and now exhibited in the surrounding museums.

In the Porcinara Cave, for example, probably the most relevant and well-known, you can admire Greek, Messapian and Latin inscriptions, extraordinary legacies left to us by the ancient populations. In addition to the inscriptions we have talked about, there are crosses carved during the early Christian period. The peculiarity of this cave is also the possibility of being reached by land, by accessing the path after the bridge of the “Castrignano port”, in addition to access by sea made possible by steps carved into the rock. In fact it is an unnatural cave, but dug by man, and used in the past for religious worship: there are traces of the worship of Jupiter or the Goddess Fortuna, or even signs of Christian worship dating back to the Byzantine period.

The cave, located 20 meters above sea level on the east side of Punta Ristola, has two large openings from which to access the three communicating rooms that make it up. The first of these was unfortunately the object of the careless hand of man, with invasive interventions of dubious success. The second is characterized by the presence of holes along the walls and probably made for religious purposes. The third room, where the real cult activities took place, presents most of the finds and traces of the past, such as inscriptions, figures, in which the clemency of the deities was invoked for the maritime adventures of the time, not only for the local populations, but also for those passing through, as has been demonstrated by archaeological studies carried out in the cave and in the surrounding area. This religious function of Porcinara made it, for a long time, a pilgrimage destination for both pagan and Christian worship.

The Grotta de Diavolo is also worthy of attention, about 150 meters from the previous one, also accessible by land and sea, named in this way because the sounds of the sea were amplified by its cavities, almost causing moans. The entrance is located 16 meters above the sea level and allows access to a large room that gradually narrows and then divides into two parts that descend to the sea. Here, too, numerous finds have been found over the years, such as bones and ceramics.

Very impressive is also the Grotta del Presepe, whose shape recalls the place of the nativity, is characterized by the presence of low arches, which allow entry only in particular conditions of low tide and calm sea.

Even the Grotta dell’Ortocupo accepts visits only in calm sea conditions, in order to enter its inlet and admire the spectacle inside. From here you can access the most famous Grotta del Soffio, through a very short diving trip. The particular name is due to the air which, coming out of the cave towards the outside, causes a breath due to the pressure to which it is subjected by the motion of the waves.

Another important cave is the Grotta dei Giganti, accessible by sea, and which takes its name from the legend that wanted the remains of the giants killed by Hercules to be buried inside. It is one of the most representative karst caves both from an artistic and archaeological point of view, in which objects of great historical value have been found.