The territory of the Arneo is a vast zone of the Salento peninsula between Torre Santa Caterina and Torre Borraco. This is a territory historically characterised by widespread woodlands and wetlands that for centuries made it inaccessible and inhospitable. The wildest and most uncontaminated zone can be found between Porto Cesareo and the South-Western part of the territory of Manduria. Due to the variety of the habitats found here and its undeniable naturalistic value, the Arneo is one of the most interesting areas of Puglia. The naturalistic itinerary ranges from the Palude del Conte - or the Count's Swamps - and the coastal dunes. This is an area thickly overrun by march flora and with numerous ponds, artificial basins, and a dense network of canals that converge with a couple of larger canals - known as collectors - that empty into the sea. This enormous reclamation project, with the passing of decades, has been completely renaturalized to the point that only through careful observation can the artificial works be distinguished from the natural context.
Type
Walking - Bicycle
Period:
January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
Useful informations
Today, all the area is protected. It is totally prohibited to hunt or fish here, a status that makes it ideal spot for hundreds of bird species to stop and rest, including the grey and red heron, the great egret, ducks, rails, and other water birds. It is also increasingly common to see a numerous flock of wild swans spending the winter here. Crossing the area we can notice the evolution of the various floral associations, from lush ones typical or marshlands, to the poorer ones of salty flats characterised by glasswort, from elecampane to bulrushes. There are plenty of stretches of "gariga"- or scrubland- with rare essences like heather and arbutus, but upon approaching the coastal dunes, true mountains of golden sand, we notice the magnificent and austere beauty of those monuments of nature: the centuries old junipers in association with the other splendid essences, like myrtle, phillyrea, and the candid sand lily. Even the dunes with their almost pristine habitat offer asylum to many other species of reptiles, small mammals, birds, as well as spiders, insects that cannot be found elsewhere, and butterflies of rare beauty.
Sources: Agrintour Updated on: 09/08/2011
Project created in collaboration with InnovaPuglia.
Regione Puglia
Regione Puglia