Porto Badisco Bay

Porto Badisco is a quiet coastal town best known for its fantastic bay with crystal clear waters. According to some, it was here that Aeneas landed after his escape from Troy even if the descriptions of the episode present in the Aeneid do not match the characteristics of this place. Archaeological evidence, however, confirms that the area has been inhabited since the Paleolithic period. Inside the Grotta dei Cervi, one of the most important hypogeal complexes in Europe, there are in fact several wall paintings dating back to that era which testify to the human presence and the variety of fauna present in this area.

If you're interested in having a rest at this crystal water bay, take the descent at the Y-junction. Some coffee shop and restaurants thereabouts.
Porto Badisco is one of the most evocative natural bays in Italy where you are surrounded by wild rocks and mythological caves that overlook the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic coast of Salento. It's literally a mythological place, in fact, according to what Virgil reported, Aeneas landed right here, with his father Anchises and his son Ascanio, after the escape from Troy. Beyond the myth, archeology brings us traces of a millenary history that began in what is known as "Grotta dei Cervi" (the deer cave). It's one of the most important underground karst complexes in Europe, inside which numerous inscriptions in guano and red ocher of the Neolithic era (8000-5000 years ago) have been found, depicting images of men bending their bow, women, children, animals, as well as images with a symbolic and probably, at least in some cases, magical content. The rock paintings of Porto Badisco, after 1970, are no longer accessible to the public for reasons of protection, but it's possible to see their own reproductions in some local museums.