Sant'Isidoro

Sant'Isidoro is a seaside resort in Puglia's sun-drenched Salento area. Located on the Ionian Sea, it features calm surf, warm waters and soft sand. The beachfront is sprinkled with palm trees and long stretches for walking along the water and taking in the sunsets.

The town's crescent-shaped beach is punctuated by a stout, stone watch tower that was built as a guard post in the 1500s when the area was prone to attack. Now it's invaded by sun-worshippers who appreciate the clean, placid water. In the summer colorful umbrellas line up in ordered rows. There is a little island just off the point.

Sant'Isidoro has an active fishing trade, so seafood features heavily in the local dishes and should be tried. Wash it down with one of the region's many excellent wines. This part of the Salento is family-oriented and has many restaurants, beachside coffee bars and a few discos thrown in for fun.

A nearby natural wetlands preserve, the Parco di Porto Selvaggio, has a mirror-like little lake, a sinkhole formed by the erosion of underground caverns that filled with fresh water from low-lying aquifers. It feeds out to sea by way of another underground canal.

Sant'Isidoro is convenient for reaching the Salento's beautiful and architecturally interesting cities like Lecce, Gallipoli and Taranto.