Separated by a strip of beach from the sea, surrounded by sand dunes and Mediterranean scrub, welcoming in a picturesque panorama of unique flora and fauna.
It offers a wonderful sight of pink flamingos, hovering in the flocks of the sky to glide elegantly in the salty skillet.
The Saline is located within the natural Torre Colimena Nature Reserve, a protected area of more than 1,000 hectares and includes various areas of natural importance.
the beach
La Salina offers a unique view that it is a shame not to live during holidays in Salento.
A wide beach, a crystalline sea, sand dunes. Perfect place to relax and enjoy the sea.
At low frequency, the beach allows you to enjoy an uncontaminated sea in August during periods frequented by tourists.
The beach is ideal for those who like to walk in wild nature, and for bird watching enthusiasts: a few meters from the beach, parallel paths open to suggestive views of the landscape in Salina.
History
The name Monasi comes from the Benedictine monks who have made this area since 1000 salt factories.
During the storms, sea water was deposited in a natural depression beyond the sand dunes, providing a reserve for what was once regarded as white gold and salt.
To improve its exploitation, the monks cut the rocks by creating a channel for the flow and regulation of water flow, and built buildings for processing and storage of salt, as well as a watch tower and a walled church dedicated to Madonna Carmel.
Magazzini is a complex with a cylindrical vault consisting of 3 large rooms (25 x 8 m). Chapel is located a few dozen meters from the warehouse complex and still retains the original vault, walls and mural. The tower contains a square base and a hierarchical trunk.
In the years between the end of the 19th century and the 1940s, therapeutic interventions for the malaria problem were proposed, particularly on a large scale here. Fortunately, the interventions were minimal and did not affect Salina and her views.
From the 1960s, Salina was speculated in heavy buildings and unsupervised tourist development. Sand dunes and important stretches of Mediterranean scrub were destroyed, and cliffs were contaminated, and salt water was even used as a summer football field.
Added to this ominous presence of fishermen.
The following years represent a shift, a new environmental sensitivity and institutional commitment that led to interventions to protect the region and to establish, in 2000, the protected area of the Torre Colimina salt basins, which were included in 2010 in the list of Italian protected areas.
the animals
La Salina, home to many species of birds, is the perfect place to watch birds. It is a rest area for pink flaming birds, where their flocks are filled during the migration stages of the salty frying pan to the delight of the stranger and visitors. In addition to flamingos, they are filled with water, cranes, swans, birth, wild geese, red ducks, white heroes, eagles, eagles, kings, woodpecks and other typical birds in the area.
Many species of birds are prey: hummingbird, osprey, kite, kestrel, bovine falcon during the day, owl barn, owl and owl at night.
Amphibians, Italian tree frog, Italian nuggets, common frog.
The most common reptiles are wild turtles, freshwater, snake-caught, and neck-snake Lehman.
Many mammals: hedgehog, porcupines, foxes, badger, wild rabbits.
the plants
The Salina scene is also an extension of the Mediterranean scrub, the broom bushes, the shrubs, and the thin tree, which offer a unique and colorful scene.
