Santa Maria di Leuca

A place of passage, of pilgrimage, of beauty; a crossroads of seas and cultures, of wind, light, and memory. It’s where the journey ends—and at the same time, something begins anew.

Known as “de Finibus Terrae”, Leuca has always held the allure of thresholds: between land and sea, East and West, history and legend. A holiday in Salento isn’t complete without touching the white, bright, powerful heart of Leuca.

The image that best represents Leuca is its Sanctuary, dedicated to Santa Maria de Finibus Terrae. It was built where the ancient Temple of Minerva once stood—today, only one altar remains from that pagan site, preserved inside the church, alongside a painting by Jacopo Palma the Younger and a precious 1885 pipe organ.

Next to the sanctuary stands a stone cross, commemorating the passage of Saint Peter, who, according to tradition, crossed through Leuca on his journey to Rome.

lighthouse, built in 1873, is the second tallest in Italy. Along with the grand staircase and the Monumental Waterfall of the Apulian Aqueduct, it creates a breathtaking scene overlooking the harbor—especially at sunset or during nights when the waterfall is illuminated.

At the foot of the staircase, the Triptych of Transcendence tells, through sculpture, the legend of Leucàsia, the siren who, blinded by her unrequited love for the shepherd Melisso, unleashed a deadly storm on him and Aristula, the young woman he loved. The gods transformed the lovers’ bodies into two rocky headlands, now known as Punta Ristola and Punta Meliso, which still seem to watch over one another to this day.

his legend gave rise to the name “Leuca,” which in ancient Greek means white: just as this land appeared to the Greek sailors when they first glimpsed it.

In the center of Leuca, you’ll find 19th-century noble villas, each with its own distinct architectural voice—a kaleidoscope of styles ranging from Gothic, Art Nouveau, Moorish, Pompeian, to Neoclassical. Some seem frozen in time, like theatrical backdrops facing the sea.

Among these, a few deserve special mention:

• Villa Meridiana, with its elegant sundial on the façade;
• Villa Pia, with its charming crenellated walls;
• Villa Mellacqua, fairytale-like and romantic;
• Villa Episcopo, evoking an atmosphere of the Orient.

Each villa tells a fragment of 19th-century Leuca, when the town became a favorite retreat for aristocrats, travelers, and intellectuals in search of peace and beauty.

It’s a landscape that embraces you, a legend that endures, a lighthouse that still shines.
And for those who know how to look, every stone, every breeze, every wave carries a story.