As for naturalistic sites, Puglia boasts at least as many as its artistic and architectural beauties or perhaps even more. From the hinterland to the coasts, the possibilities are innumerable. Starting from those closest to Villa Trullo dei Mori we find the Torre Guaceto Nature Reserve, only 30 minutes away, the Parco delle Dune Costiere (Coastal Dune Park), which extends from Torre Canne to Torre San Leonardo and the Lama d'Antico Park in Fasano.
The scenario changes completely if you reach the Castellana Caves.
Finally, for those who love nature but do not feel like travelling, you just need to go out on the threshold of Trullo dei Mori to immerse yourself in its wonderful park.
TORRE GUACETO NATURE RESERVE
Villa Trullo dei Mori is just 30 minutes from the Torre Guaceto Nature Reserve.
This is a protected natural area located on the Adriatic coast of Upper Salento, a few kilometers from the towns of Carovigno and San Vito dei Normanni. Already in 1970 the WWF took particular notice of this location and it became a protected marine area in 1991. Subsequently, the Puglia Region identified the wetlands of Torre Guaceto as a special protection area (Zona Protetta Speciale ZPS). The Marine Nature Reserve boasts an area of 2,200 hectares overlooking the sea while the Tower dominates the rest of the Reserve from a high promontory suspended over the sea. This is a territory of surprising biodiversity, an irreplaceable piece in the mosaic of the biotic diversity of the Salento coasts. One can pass from the inland lands of centuries-old olive trees, woods of living sculptures, to the high dunes overlooking the sea, in summer dotted with white lilies and centuries-old junipers, to the small wetlands that form during and after the rains which disappear in the hottest periods. In the areas adjacent to the permanent stretches of water bordered by reeds, in addition to a rich flora, the reserve also hosts a large number of animals including nocturnal mammals such as badgers, weasels or stone martens, which during daytime are usually hidden in their burrows or dens, well camouflaged in the vegetation. As the birds, in addition to swallows and numerous passeriforms species, larger birds such as the water rail, herons and great bittern live in this place, while the marsh harrier is the most present bird of prey.
You do not have to be a marine biologist or an expert in natural sciences to appreciate a visit to Torre Guaceto, it is highly recommended for anyone nature lover.
THE COASTAL DUNES REGIONAL NATURAL PARK
Villa Trullo dei Mori is located less than 20 minutes by car from Coastal Dunes Park
The Regional Park extends over an area of about 1,100 hectares between the municipalities of Ostuni and Fasano, covering kilometers of beaches and then moving towards the plain of olive trees.
For the biodiversity of its numerous habitats, in 2006 it was recognized as the Coastal Dunes Regional Natural Park from Torre Canne to Torre San Leonardo.
Along the coast there are various watchtowers built in the Aragonese era to control the coastal areas from Saracen raids and to give the alarm to the inland areas. The whole plain of monumental olive groves is dotted with historic farms called “masserie” from the 16th to the 18th century, which conceal underground Roman and medieval oil mills. The starting point for excursions and guided tours is the former Fontevecchia train station now used as the Park’s house. Continuing along the ancient Via Traiana you can reach the ancient and imposing Dolmen of Montalbano, dating back to around the second millennium BC and less than 300 meters from the coast you can find rare wild orchids blooming on the fossil dunes.
In the stretches of water of the Morelli River it is easy to spot a gray heron or a white egret, hidden among the marsh reeds while stone martens, badgers and barn owls find hide among the karst formations.
THE RUGGED LAMA D’ANTICO PARK
Villa Trullo dei Mori is located just 25 minutes from the Lama d'Antico Park
The Parco Rupestre Lama D’Antico, a rugged and rocky park, is located in the municipality of Fasano, consisting of a pathway winding though an enchanting natural landscape dotted with olive groves and deeply immersed in the Mediterranean scrub.
The park hosts one of the most suggestive rock settlements in Puglia. Inside it is possible to explore the different structures that were part of the village, belonging to the 10th-16th century AD: the imposing church carved into the rocks, the caves, houses and sites used as work environments. The enchanting churches of San Lorenzo and San Giovanni built in the rocks, with their beautiful and colorful pictorial decorations also found in the Park.
CASTELLANA CAVES
Villa Trullo dei Mori is a 50-minute drive from the Castellana Caves.
The territory of the Itria Valley coincides with the southern part of the Murge plain. The Murge (from the Latin "murex" meaning sharp stone), are karst formations formed by the chemical activity of water on limestone rocks and are characterized by the widespread presence of cavities, caves, caverns, sinkholes and water easily filtering in depth thanks to the intense degree of fracturing of the soil, thus forming underground rivers and lakes: the Castellana Caves are the maximum expression of this karst phenomenon.
These caves are a complex of underground cavities that develop for a length of 3.348 meters, reaching a maximum depth of 122 meters from the surface. The Castellana caves were formed about 90/100 million years ago in the calcareous subsoil of the Itria Valley, but the discovery of the entire system of chasms and cavities dates back to 1938 by the speleologist Franco Anelli.
Considering that the temperature can vary from between 14 and 18 ° C at the very most, even in summer it is preferable to have the proper attire.