There’s a Salento that doesn’t overlook the sea, but lives in its dry stone walls, in bell towers rising silently over sun-drenched squares, in the voices of the elderly telling ancient stories in the shade of olive trees. This is a less photographed, less crowded Salento, but perhaps all the more authentic for it. And this is where Unconventional Salento was born, a project created in 2024 by Daniela Scianaro and Marco Rigliaco — AIGAE hiking and environmental guides and passionate bike travelers — to rediscover the region with a new perspective.
Not the usual scenic coastal road, but a 200 km loop starting from Lecce, crossing the most authentic inland areas all the way to Santa Maria di Leuca, and back. A self-guided route that invites you to slow down and listen, to lift your eyes from the wheels and lose yourself among silent countryside, Byzantine chapels, and villages where time seems to stand still. A journey toward the horizon, reaching the sea only at the end — where the road ends and the infinite begins.
‘Unconventional’ because it takes the road less traveled, celebrates the beauty of small things, and values a “lesser-known” Salento that is in fact the soul and root of this land.
How did the Unconventional Salento project come about?
It started from the awareness of the beauty of the coast and the allure of cycling by the sea. As cycle touring guides, Daniela Scianaro and Marco Rigliaco often noticed how little of the Salento remained in the minds of those choosing it as a cycling destination.
The coastal loop of Salento is one of the best-selling routes, but we wanted to offer something different. Coastal towns, especially the more touristy ones, tend to resemble each other with their restaurants and souvenir shops, and they lose their authenticity, their history. Marco and Daniela wanted to create a route along the inland backbone that would allow travelers to discover the true Salento — archaic and wild, made of countless small stories, dry stone walls, “pagghiare” (traditional huts), and scattered Byzantine chapels, dolmens, and menhirs. In the small towns, chatting with locals brings a thousand stories and anecdotes back to life.
And the sea is still a protagonist — how could it not be, in a strip of land surrounded by two seas? But it doesn’t accompany you the whole way; instead, you ride toward it, reaching it only where land ends and the sea begins. A kind of journey toward the horizon, revealed at the moment you stop pedaling.
Why ‘unconventional’?
It’s a journey into the small things, the small towns, the small stories. You won’t be visiting major European capitals or tourist hotspots, but rather crossing a land that embraced slowness as a lifestyle long ago — and it’s precisely this that makes it so attractive. If beauty lies in the little things, then this is an authentic cycling trip — ‘unconventional’ as a tribute to that so-called ‘lesser’ Salento that holds the region’s true soul.
How does the project work?
Unconventional Salento is a self-guided cycling trip, accessible all year round — although strongly discouraged in July and August due to excessive heat. The route is almost entirely flat, making it suitable for all legs and all types of bikes.
You can visit the website www.unconventionalsalento.it, download the GPX track to follow, and also download the Road Book in PDF, which details the route stage by stage, with all points of interest along the way. The main route covers 200 km, but based on your time and fitness, you can choose from many other loop bike tours to further explore and understand the region. Each extra tour in the Road Book includes both the GPX track and a descriptive sheet highlighting its unique features.
The project is entirely self-funded, and all proceeds will be reinvested to enhance this unconventional cycling experience — improving usability and creating dedicated merchandise.
The Road Book
The Road Book also includes a list of partner accommodations (which accept single-night stays and have secure bike parking) and useful Bike Points along the route (like shops, repair stations, etc.—because we all know, shit happens! And it’s good to know where to get help).
At the moment, Unconventional Salento is offered as a self-guided cycling trip, but a guided tour is planned for the autumn months, led by Daniela and Marco as a launch event — one that’s sure to attract tour operators specialized in active holidays and bike travel.
