Porto Cesareo Underwater Archaeological Adventure

The archeological sites at the coast of Porto Cesareo tell us about a local history that was intimately bound to the rest of the Mediterranean. Indeed, the archeological remains that we will see will lead us to consider the relationships with other parts of the basin and to talk about ancient navigation, the “marble route” coming from the Aegean and deities coming from ancient Egypt.
In addition, it will appear clear the relevance of physical geography shaping local history. Thus, we will talk about the main features of the Mediterranean Basin, the evolution of coastal topography and geomorphological processes.
After describing and talking about the history of modern and contemporary buildings that we will see, we will try to reconstruct the evolution of the coastal landscape and the destruction of the coastal ecosystems.
This tour is recommended for archeology, history, geography and culture enthusiasts, naturalists, swimmers, active tourists and adventure seekers.

Meeting Point

Torre di Santo Stefano (Torre Chianca)

Località, Torre Chianca, 73010 Porto Cesareo LE, Italy

Coming from Porto Cesareo you need to reach Via dei Bacini. Go along that street for around 1.5 km and turn left in Via Mar Tirreno. Follow that street for 50 mt and turn left into Via Mar Jonio, which is the street that leads to Torre di Santo Stefano (or Torre Chianca), our meeting point.

What's included:

• Family or friends accompaning tour participants can join the tour's parts occuring on land FOR FREE
• Swim buoy with 5 or 10 l waterproof bag (participants are welcome to bring theirs).
• Goggles (participants are welcome to bring theirs)
• Waterproof bag for phone for putting inside the 5 or 10 l bag for extra protection from water

Not included:

• Participants bringing WATER SHOES will walk easier and safer on slippery and sharp rocks.
• Participants should use SOLAR PROTECTION.
• You may bring small waterproof bags for extra protection of personal belongings (keys, wallet, etc)
• Organizers can't assume any responsability on participants belongins' safeness or dryness.
• We suggest participants to bring the strictly necessary and leave the rest in the car or hotel
• You may bring an underwater phone case or a waterproof camera to take photographs underwater.

What to expect:

Duration: 2 hours

Torre di Santo Stefano (Torre Chianca)

Località, Torre Chianca, 73010 Porto Cesareo LE, Italy

The meeting point is at the shade of the tower. There, the characteristics and structure of the tour will be explained, the geography and the history of the region will be introduced and we will get prepared for swimming.

20 minutes

Area Marina Protetta Porto Cesareo

Porto Cesareo

From the Tower of Santo Stefano, we we will reach the following archeological sites swimming:
- underwater Roman columns (circa 80 m from the shore and 5 m depth). Due to water trasparency these columns can be seen already putting the head under the water. So, it is not necessary to dive deep for seeing them.
- underwater tombs (circa 60 m from the shore and 2 m depth).
SWIMMING: The minimun distances to be swimm are: 1) from the tower to the Roman columns and back = ca. 160 m, and 2) from the tower to underwater tombs and back = ca. 120 m.
In case the participants will prefer swimming over walking, the swimming distance reached during the tour could be extended to circa 500 m.
The participants have to consider that the swimming conditions are strongy related to waves, streams and atmospheric conditions. These conditions will be assessed before departing. In case of dangerous swimming conditions the tour will be cancelled.

50 minutes

Spiaggia di Torre Chianca

Via dei Bagni, Porto Cesareo, 73010

Walking along the coast we will reach the following archeological sites:
- ancient necropolis
- WWII bunker
The sites that will be visited on the coast are not farder than 300 m from the Tower of Santo Stefano. The walking will occurr partly on sandy beaches and partly on rocks, which can be slippy or sharp. Thus, it is important that participant consider to bring water shoes.

50 minutes