If you love unspoiled nature, the Torre Guaceto Marine Reserve, in the province of Brindisi, cannot be missing from the list of places to visit in Puglia. Over the centuries, this area has been a constant point of reference for those who, arriving by ship from the ports of the southern Mediterranean, were looking for a safe and well protected port from the winds. Precisely for this reason, in the sixteenth century, the Aragonese decided to garrison the inlet with a watchtower that was inserted into the defensive system of the coast. The tower, which took the name of Torre Guaceto, was built around 1531 and fortified in 1567 and has remained well preserved to this day.
Today the Tower is not only the symbol of the reserve but a real museum that houses numerous fragments of Mycenaean, Messapian and Bronze Age art, found in the clearing in front of it. Although the whole area is a very interesting archaeological site, its naturalistic value is far from negligible. Walking near the tower, in a relatively small area, you will be amazed at how three different ecosystems that interact with each other, influencing each other, can coexist: the Mediterranean scrub, the wetland and the sea.
The presence of the Mediterranean scrub is favored by the protective action offered by the dunes that form near the beach thanks to the action of the wind, which, carrying the grains of sand, deposits the larger ones when there is an obstacle. Over time the roots of the vegetation have compacted the beautiful dunes that you will see along the coast. Along the road that leads to the tower-museum, you will notice numerous bodies of water, these represent an excellent observation point for those who want to discover the ecosystem of the wetland up close, a large territory fed by underground springs and various channels that they put it in communication with the sea water lagoon drawn by the promontory of the tower. The area is essentially made up of marsh reeds in ponds and you may be lucky enough to spot a great variety of birds, both sedentary, such as the hawk, and migratory, such as the heron but also many varieties of amphibians.
