Imagine a whitewashed building surrounded by dense Mediterranean scrub. From here, overlooking the sea, the horizon opens towards the meeting point between the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea. We are at the old lighthouse of Punta Palascìa, pride of Capo d’Otranto, the other name by which the host town is known.
The lighthouse of Punta Palascìa
Punta Palascìa, about 40 km from Lecce and 6 km from the town of Otranto, houses one of the lighthouses protected by the European Commission: the building, built in 1867, is located in the extreme eastern tip of Italy.
It is still possible to see the glow of the lantern but the lighthouse no longer fulfills its function as a sentinel of the sea. Today it is a monument of industrial archeology and has been replaced by a solar cell lantern placed in the military base above.
Visiting the old lighthouse is a suggestive experience and the road to reach it is unpaved but easy. From its summit, on clear days, it is even possible to see the coast of Albania and the Greek islands. It is a place of the heart for those who live in Salento all year round and it is also a popular destination for tourists looking for unconventional horizons, immersed in the peace of nature. One might think that summer is the ideal season to visit the lighthouse but the winter sea has always had a romantic charm, in fact it is not unusual to see couples, families with children and tourists strolling around it. Punta Palascìa is a perfect destination even in the cold season, especially on New Year's Eve.
The first sunrise of the year at the Punta Palascìa lighthouse
There are experiences that don't have much in common with everything Christmas. One of these is the tradition of meeting on the terrace of the lighthouse on the night of December 31 to wait for the dawn of the new year. Thanks to the initiatives organized for New Year's Eve and New Year's Eve (live music, exhibitions and art performances, etc.) the atmosphere is, year after year, more and more engaging. It does not matter if the night can be freezing because the most chilly take refuge in their cars, or stop along the path, where the rocks offer shelter from the wind. With your eyes open you can breathe in the dark and expect the new day: being in Punta Palascìa, when the first dawn in Italy is born, is an evocative moment that gathers many people.
