Torre dell'Orso & Grotta della Poesia: Legendary Sea
There's a stretch of Adriatic coastline, about twenty minutes from the masseria, where Salento packs a perfect bay, two sea stacks with a love story inside them, and one of the Mediterranean's most famous natural pools into just a few kilometres. It runs from Torre dell'Orso to Roca Vecchia, and a day here feels like a little journey in itself.
The bay of Torre dell'Orso
Torre dell'Orso is a crescent of fine, pale sand nearly a kilometre long, enclosed between two rocky headlands and fringed by a fragrant pine wood. The water has those colours that look digitally enhanced — except they're real: the shallow, sandy seabed makes it luminous and perfect for children too, as we explain in our guide to family-friendly beaches.
The beach alternates between free stretches and serviced lidos; behind it, the sixteenth-century watchtower that gives the place its name recalls the days when people scanned the sea from here, fearing pirates.
The Due Sorelle
At the southern end of the bay, two twin sea stacks rise from the water just a few metres apart: these are the Due Sorelle — the "Two Sisters" — the symbol of Torre dell'Orso. Legend tells of two sisters swallowed by the sea and turned to rock by the gods, so they could stay together forever — we've told their story alongside the other legends of Salento.
Legend aside, this is one of the most photographed views in Puglia: the best moment is early morning, when the light comes off the sea and the beach is still quiet.
The Grotta della Poesia
A few minutes further north, at Roca Vecchia, the rock opens into a natural pool of turquoise water: the Grotta della Poesia, often listed among the most beautiful natural swimming pools in the world. The name probably comes from an ancient freshwater spring (posia), and legend — of course — added a poetess who enchanted everyone who saw her swim.
Two things worth knowing, in the interest of honesty:
- Roca Vecchia is also an important archaeological site, with Bronze Age remains and ancient inscriptions in the caves: the area is protected;
- precisely for this reason, access is regulated (in season you pay an entrance fee and visit at set times) and cliff jumping is forbidden: the rock is fragile, and past accidents have led to strict rules. It's worth every minute all the same: you're swimming in history, quite literally.
How to plan your day
The perfect trio, starting from the masseria:
- Early morning at the Due Sorelle, with the best light and a half-empty beach;
- a swim and some downtime in the bay of Torre dell'Orso (lido or free beach);
- in the afternoon, the Grotta della Poesia and a stroll through the excavations at Roca;
- to round things off, a sunset aperitivo in San Foca, the little fishing village just down the road.
On scirocco days, this stretch of the Adriatic can get rough: that's when it pays to head for the Ionian instead — we explain the wind rule here.
From the masseria
Torre dell'Orso and Roca are about a twenty-minute drive from the masseria: this is our "home" coastline, together with the Alimini lakes and Otranto. And that's the whole point of sleeping inland: in the morning you choose your sea according to the wind and your mood, and in the evening you come back to the silence of the countryside — with sand in your shoes and the Due Sorelle in your phone's photo roll.