The Culture of the Pearl

How boring! We are in the summer and you have just three days available for your holidays! Do not panic: SalentoVirtuale.com runs in your help.
Have you ever heard of a Madonna who wanted to live in the countryside at any cost? Well it is precisely the story hidden in the history of the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Coltura (in Parabita, about 10 km from Gallipoli).
It is said that a farmer, many centuries ago, was passing with his oxen in an area of ​​the country called “Contrada Pane”.
At a certain point, the animals suddenly stopped and the man noticed an image of the Madonna painted on a large stone block.
He rushed into town to tell the story and, in less than no time, the monolith was carried in procession into the Mother Church. Miraculously, however, on the following day the big block of stone had disappeared: a few days later it was found in the countryside. It was then that the inhabitants of the place understood that the Madonna wanted to stay there, in the middle of the fields and called it “Madonna della Coltura” (agriculture, in fact).
Then, in his honor, they erected a chapel which, over the centuries, has become the present sanctuary.
The countryside is suggestive, characteristic, of course, but the heat does not forgive.
How about diving in the clear sea of ​​Gallipoli? After a nice “freshening up”, maybe, we could take a look at the Greek Fountain, the Castle, the Old Town and so on …
But at mid-evening you can’t absolutely miss a walk along the “pan ride”: so is called the route encloseing the Old Town in a sort of circle. Or, if you prefer, you can go across the bridge to reach Corso Roma; or take a trip on Lungomare Galilei, for a romantic walk in the glowing of the moon that is reflecting in the sea.