The Two Sisters of Torre dell’Orso

I🏖️ The Two Sisters of Torre dell’Orso

A legend of water, silence, and stone on Salento’s Adriatic coast

On the Adriatic coast of Salento, in the town of Melendugno, lies one of the most iconic bays in the region: Torre dell’Orso. Just a few meters offshore rise two majestic white sea stacks, almost identical in shape and size. For centuries, locals have called them simply: Le Due Sorelle — The Two Sisters.

🌊 The landscape and collective memory

The area is defined by limestone cliffs, clear turquoise water, marine caves, and a 16th-century watchtower that gave the bay its name. But more than the tower, it is the two sea stacks that shape the area’s identity.

The legend behind them is one of the most widely shared in Salento. Though not formally written in historical texts, it has been passed down for generations — through oral tradition, local folklore, and guided tours told with reverence and familiarity.

👭 The story of the sisters

According to the tale, two sisters lived in a village inland. One summer day, driven by a longing to see the sea for the first time, they walked to the coast and reached the cliffs of Torre dell’Orso.

There, something mysterious happened: the younger sister, moved by emotion or impulse, leaned too far over the cliff and fell into the water. The older sister, overcome with despair, jumped in after her in a desperate rescue attempt.

The waves took them both. But the sea, it is said, touched by their innocence and bond, refused to return their bodies. Instead, it turned them into stone — shaping the two sea stacks that still rise today.

To this day, fishermen and visitors alike say those silent rocks are the sisters, forever embraced by the sea’s eternal tide.