There is an elective affinity between man and the sea, a natural, solid and timeless bond. His gaze has always contemplated the vastness of the blue, entrusting it with thoughts, prayers, passions, secrets. There is a world between the waves, beyond the appearance of things, where the blue opens the doors to the abyss. And it is there that a book it can become the lens through which to see and untangle fish, seahorses, sponges, corals and other water organisms.
“Blu Salento – Guide to the cost and diving” by Genuario Belmonte and Michele Solca (Ed. Grifo, 2024), from tomorrow (Friday, June 28th) will be on newsstands together with “Nuovo Quotidiano di Puglia” in the provinces of Lecce, Brindisi and Taranto, at 9.80 euros plus the price of the newspaper. It is an invitation to an unprecedented journey, an experience to discover underwater environments, along underwater itineraries and beyond.
The main attractive force of Salento, on a tourist level, is the sea, capable of gathering around itself a large number of visitors from all over the world. And so the work, from different perspectives and angles, from the seabed to the coast, explores it completely, highlighting the profound link between the anthropic and natural marine environments, all to be discovered and safeguarded. Scuba diving constitutes the main and distinctive element of the work: the reader is thus led, thanks also to a rich set of images, to discover a new and surprising scenario. They are two worlds, ours and that of the sea, which share an inseparable bond.
Along the shores, for example, you may come across leaves and balls (egagropili) made of plant fibers, which are very often found deposited on the beach. Products returned by the waves, many do not know that these elements constitute the so-called “submerged meadows”, of which the variety of “Posidonia oceanica”, typical of the marine habitat of the Mediterranean, has the important function of preventing coastal erosion and contributing to their protection. Taking a leap into the blue, between 30 and 100 m deep, and widespread in many areas of Salento, the bioconstructions of the “coralligenous” develop, a primary element of the underwater landscape, covering about 38% of the coastal seabed, true agglomerations of heterogeneous life forms, which, in Puglia, can count up to 800 different species. The coastal cave environment also arouses great curiosity.
Surrounded by an aura of legend, some have been discovered relatively recently. In fact, until 1999, in the province of Lecce, there were 53 coastal sea caves, while today we know that the number of caves around Salento, submerged or semi-submerged, reaches at least 108.
The footprint of man is also visible on the seabed, as in the case of the five monolithic columns from the 2nd century AD, found in Porto Cesareo, in the Torre Chianca area. We then move on to the description of the underwater itineraries of Torre dell’Ovo, San Pietro in Bevagna, Porto Cesareo, Torre Inserraglio, the Grotta delle Corvine, the shallows of Porto Selvaggio, Gallipoli, Castro Marina, Torre Vado- Morciano di Leuca, Capo di Leuca, Castro Marina, Porto Badisco, Capo d’Otranto, Torre Guaceto. And again, alternative formulas are suggested for “living the sea” such as visits to museums and aquariums, excursions to some characteristic areas, crossing Salento by kayak between towers, islands, canals and places rich in history. A very interesting focus with anecdotes and curiosities about the marine organisms characteristic of the territory, concludes the work.
Between the pages of “Blu Salento” the murmur of the sea can be heard, the echo of its song. The passion, studies and research of the authors pay homage to the “big blue” of Salento, guardian of ancient navigations, revealer of new routes and other scenarios, in a book to read and always keep with you in this new hot summer.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Read the full article on
Daily Newspaper of Puglia
