Description of the attraction
Santa Cesaria Terme is a small town with a population of only three thousand people, located in the province of Lecce on the banks of the Otranto Canal on terraces descending to the sea. Today it is one of the main spa resorts of the Salento Peninsula (“Italian heel”).
The use of thermal waters, the sources of which are located in four caves, began about five hundred years ago, and now the entire economy of the city is based on these caves. An old legend says that Santa Cesaria Terme got its name from the young girl Cisaria, who escaped from her cruel father and took refuge in one of the local grottoes. There she slipped and died, falling into a pond of hot water. According to another legend, the father who was pursuing the girl slipped and died.
Santa Cesaria Terme is a relatively young city. It is literally strewn with underground caves, some of which have hot mineral springs rich in iodine, sulfur and sodium. The most significant of them are the caves of Feydida, Solfurea, Gattula and Solfatura, thanks to which the resort business began to develop in the city. It was not until the 18th century that wealthy townspeople and the local aristocracy began to build residences in Santa Cesaria Terme in the hope of improving their health. Over the past centuries, luxurious villas, palazzo and extravagant cottages have formed a whole separate city, "lined" with elegant avenues and boulevards, and the old center of Santa Cesaria Terme "adorned" with fashionable hotels and boarding houses. Today, tourists can admire original buildings, such as the Palazzo Stykki, erected on a cliff and striking with its Moorish architecture, or Villa Raffaella, converted into prestigious apartments.
The thermal baths are open from May to November, and the temperature of the waters is now regulated at 40 ° C with the help of special devices. Here you can take a course of treatment for respiratory diseases, recover from injuries and stress, and negate dermatological problems.
