Casamassella: Paths, Weaving and Tradition

Nature Experiences and Historical Traces

Casamassella combines nature experiences, historical traces, craftsmanship and religious traditions. For those interested in culture, Casamassella brings together paths, crafts, buildings, religious customs and local cuisine in several different facets.

Hiking Trails Between Caves and Ancient Stone

The Itinerario dell'alveare e della grotta is a hiking trail that combines nature, history and art. It includes a historic apiary belonging to Fondazione Le Costantine, an impressive underground cave and art installations in nature. In this way, the trail brings together several themes without requiring you to limit yourself to just one way of experiencing the area.

The Itinerario Idro offers a different perspective on the landscape. It follows the course of an ancient river through the Valle dell'Idro, passing spontaneous vegetation and areas of natural tranquillity. It also leads past impressive rock caves regarded as evidence of a distant past. The Itinerario dolmen menhir leads through the landscape and past ancient stone monuments to dolmens and menhirs that tell of civilisations thousands of years old.

Megalithic Gardens and Early Cultures

The Itinerario megalitico also turns its attention to early cultures: it leads through megalithic gardens containing ancient evidence of distant civilisations in a Mediterranean landscape. Together, the trails offer a spectrum ranging from river courses, caves and art in nature to traces in stone. The choice of route can be guided by your preferred focus: observing nature, cultural history or several themes that can be combined during a single day of your stay. The Mediterranean landscape accompanies this view of early cultures.

Weaving and the Ecomuseo

Fondazione Le Costantine preserves and conveys the ancient tradition of handcrafted weaving in Salento. The Fondazione Le Costantine's weaving workshop “Cantando e Amando”, active since 2002, uses old looms with four shafts; products include rugs, tapestries, scarves and bags. The Ecomuseo is based at the Casa delle Culture del Mediterraneo.

Castle, Crypt and Old Church

Casamassella Castle De Viti De Marco stands in the centre of Casamassella. The Sant'Angelo Crypt takes its name from a fresco of the holy Archangel Michael found on its walls. The old Madonna della Scala Church was built in the 16th century.

Religious Tradition and Cuisine

The local cuisine includes the Tavole di San Giuseppe, an old religious tradition. Preparations include Vermiceddhri, Fritti, Lampascioni, salted cod, leafy greens and Fritti coated in honey. The Caloma Festival is intended to take place every year and to include musical performances, artistic performances, theatre productions and reflections on sustainable cuisine.

The Casamassella tourist information point provides information, maps and tips for discovering the town and its surroundings. This gives you a practical way to organise the various trails, cultural sites and culinary themes according to your preferred focus, without limiting your stay to just one type of experience.

More places for planning your trip: Racale, Depressa, Pacci, Lecce, Lequile, Capilungo, Scorrano, Supersano.

To the higher-level travel overview: Lecce.