You leave Monopoli behind, with its bright harbour and houses facing the Adriatic. The coast guides you on secondary roads and in some sections you cycle in the footsteps of the Via Francigena del Sud, immersed among olive groves. Near Torre Santa Sabina, service roads require care as far as Brindisi airport. From here you soon return to urban cycle paths and secondary roads, leaving the city through open countryside and drove roads that feel like unmarked cycle paths, where time seems to slow.

After a short delicate stretch on the SP86, follow the Messapi di Vino cycle itinerary towards Torchiarolo, continuing between farmsteads on slow secondary roads. With due care you enter the wonderful city of Lecce, the baroque heart of the peninsula, suspended between the Adriatic and the Ionian. From Lecce you reach Acaya along cycle-touring itineraries. From here you head back towards the sea via provincial roads that require more attention, then cross the Le Cesine Nature Reserve on a surfaced path and reach Otranto on coastal roads and paths.

From Otranto the coast would be an irresistible pull, but in summer the provincial roads become busier and less safe. For this reason we recommend an entirely inland itinerary: alternative routes, quieter, along secondary roads and paths passing through small Salento villages such as Uggiano La Chiesa, Cerfignano, Vignacastro, Andrano, Tricase, Corsano and Gagliano del Capo.

Finally the road descends towards the sea and Santa Maria di Leuca appears, called by the Romans "de finibus terrae" — meaning "at the ends of the earth" — the southernmost point of Roman territory. Here Puglia ends and so does the journey: two seas meet and the Adriatic hands over to the Ionian. The arrival point is the Lighthouse of Santa Maria di Leuca, which is also the endpoint of the Via Francigena del Sud.

⚠️ Critical sections: Torre Santa Sabina – Brindisi (moderately busy service and coastal roads), Brindisi – Torchiarolo (about 1 km on main road SP86), Lecce – Otranto (some stretches on provincial roads with a narrow verge).