A few kilometres south of Otranto, on the road toward Capo d'Otranto, sits an abandoned bauxite quarry that operated from 1940 to 1976. When work stopped, groundwater filled the pit and oxidising minerals turned the water a vivid emerald green, set against rust-red walls of bauxite ore — an unexpectedly otherworldly landscape.
The site is not a swimming hole — the water is shallow and the ground unstable in places — but it is one of the most photographed corners of the Salento. Park at the small turnoff on the SP358 and walk in for about five minutes through scrub to reach the rim.