La Notte della Taranta (Torre Sant'Andrea stop)

La Notte della Taranta in Torre Sant'Andrea

Every summer, the La Notte della Taranta Itinerant Festival brings pizzica and Salento folk music to the squares and seaside villages of Salento. One of the most beloved stops is Torre Sant'Andrea, the marina of the Municipality of Melendugno, in the province of Lecce, where the stage is set up along the charming seafront, just a few steps from the famous sea stacks and cliffs sculpted by the wind and the sea.

The ritual of pizzica by the sea

The evening in Torre Sant'Andrea combines performance with the natural beauty of the Salento Adriatic coast. At sunset, the seafront fills with families, young people, and tourists dancing to the driving rhythm of tambourines. The pizzica pizzica, an ancient dance linked to the phenomenon of tarantism, becomes a collective and liberating celebration here, accompanied by accordions, guitars, violins, and voices from the Grika and Salento traditions.

A festival spread across Salento

La Notte della Taranta was born in 1998 in Melpignano and over the years has become the largest Italian event dedicated to folk music. Before the famous final Concertone in Melpignano, the Itinerant Festival travels through about twenty municipalities in Salento, between the Grecìa Salentina area and the coast, bringing free concerts to iconic locations such as Corigliano d'Otranto, Galatina, Martano, Cutrofiano, and, indeed, Torre Sant'Andrea. Each stop offers a different program, featuring folk orchestras, traditional groups, and guests from the Italian and Mediterranean music scenes.

Torre Sant'Andrea, a jewel of the Melendugno coast

The setting is one of the most photographed stretches of the Puglia coast: the 16th-century coastal tower, the coves, the natural rock arches, and the crystal-clear sea make Torre Sant'Andrea a very popular seaside destination. Attending La Notte della Taranta in this context means experiencing Salento tradition in one of its most authentic settings, amidst music, sea, and conviviality.

Free admission

Like all stops of the Itinerant Festival, the concert in Torre Sant'Andrea is free of charge. The Municipality of Melendugno usually organizes shuttle services and parking areas to facilitate the flow of the public toward the marina on the evening of the event.