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PARK COASTAL DUNE

Piazza Ciaia was and remains the beating heart of Fasano. An elegant square where you'll recognize the true soul of the local community and its historical memory. Among various cultural and social symbols of identity, you'll recognize the civic coat of arms on its white limestone paving: a faso or wild pigeon surrounded by the Maltese cross.

In fact, governed by the Knights of Malta for 500 years, Fasano had a castle in this square, on the site of the current Town Hall, which served as the residence of the Balì and the residence of the Knights' military garrison.
The entire Piazza Ciaia is dominated by many public and private buildings of great architectural value, including Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Gaito, with its statue of the Madonna del Pozzo, the city's patron saint. Also noteworthy is the Clock Tower, home to the University, with its large loggia and current tourist information point. Then there's the late 16th-century church of San Nicola, the corner of Palazzo Mogavero-Pepe with its elegant loggia, and Palazzo Brandi-Latorre, built in the second half of the 19th century.
But if you skirt the Town Hall, heading north, you'll find yourself in the center of the city's main avenues, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, where you'll notice other palaces, churches, and houses in the Fasano style. On the seafront, you'll find the elegant Corso Garibaldi, known by the locals as Corso dei Colucci, due to the imposing Palazzo Reale-Colucci in its central location.

Continuing toward the sea, the Torre Canne lighthouse looms, a fascist lighthouse that now houses a tourist information point and a small sea museum. We recommend a stop for an ice cream or an aperitif, or simply a stroll along the harbor, where you can meet fishermen or enjoy a beautiful view that extends to the Ostuni hill.

Resuming the tour south, you'll retrace the coast, which for about 20 years has been a protected area due to its dunes and wetlands of great naturalistic interest.

It’s worth a stop the Fiume Morelli, the only state-owned area in the Coastal Dune Park. It's actually an L-shaped canal about 800 meters long, fed by brackish waters, used for an ancient aquaculture farm (golden mullet, eels, and gilt-head bream).

The Coastal Dune Park, covering 1200 hectares, is also an agricultural park: the scenic "white road" leads to the Montalbano Dolmen, a sacrificial altar from the 2nd millennium BC, also known as the Paladins' Dolmen, a true testimony to ancient human settlement.