Lago Alimini & the Frassanito Pinewood
Just 10 kilometres north of Otranto, the twin Alimini Lakes form a protected coastal lagoon system fringed by one of southern Italy's most unexpected landscapes: a dense umbrella-pine forest that separates the freshwater lakes from the Adriatic dunes. In spring and early summer, greater flamingos wade in the shallows — a sight that feels more Camargue than Puglia.
The Lakes and Their Wildlife
Lago Alimini Grande is the larger of the two, a brackish lagoon connected to the sea and rich in grey mullet, eels and migratory birds. The smaller Lago Alimini Piccolo is freshwater and reed-fringed, attracting herons, egrets and the flamingos that have colonised the area in growing numbers over the past decade.
A dirt track and cycle path runs along the western shore of the larger lake through the Frassanito pinewood — rent a bike in Otranto for around €10 a day and ride the full 8 km loop in the cool of the morning.
The Dune Beach
On the seaward side of the pinewood, a long arc of dune beach stretches with far fewer visitors than the beaches immediately around Otranto town. The pines come right to the edge of the sand, providing natural shade — a rarity on this coast — and the water is the same jewel-bright turquoise as everywhere along the Salento shoreline.
The area is part of the Le Cesine WWF Nature Reserve at its southern end, so development is strictly limited. This is as close to a pristine Pugliese coastal ecosystem as you will find within easy reach of a town.
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