Puglia
A bracelet slipped off at the Purità, in Gallipoli's old town
The Purità lies in an inlet below the old town walls, facing the church of Santa Maria della Purità.
Whether a bracelet lost at the Purità can be found depends on where it came off: on the sand, close under the walls, or in the sea. How many people crossed the beach after you left matters as well.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Gallipoli, Porto Cesareo, Otranto, Polignano a Mare or Vieste with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
While you are still inside the old walls
If you are still at the Purità, go through the bag and shake out the towel on the spot, then save a pin where you sat. Take one photo from there with the church or a stretch of the walls in it, and note whether you went into the water.
Then describe the bracelet: the metal, chain or solid bangle, and how it fastens. A broken clasp and a bangle that slid over the hand are different cases.
Elsewhere on this coast the same photo works with a different landmark in it: the Madonna dell'Altomare church above the beach in Otranto, the Roman bridge behind Lama Monachile, Pizzomunno at the Castello beach, or the Isola dei Conigli off Porto Cesareo.
Places we cover in Puglia
- Gallipoli
- Spiaggia della Purità, Gallipoli
- The old town, Gallipoli
- Rivabella, Gallipoli
- Baia Verde, Gallipoli
- Porto Cesareo
- The town beach and seafront, Porto Cesareo
- The small port, Porto Cesareo
- Isola dei Conigli, Porto Cesareo
- Torre Lapillo and Punta Prosciutto, Porto Cesareo
- Otranto
- Spiaggia dei Gradoni, Lungomare Kennedy, Otranto
- The Madonna dell'Altomare beach, Otranto
- The free beach by the public gardens, Otranto
- Lungomare degli Eroi, Otranto
- Alimini beach and the Baia dei Turchi, Otranto
- Polignano a Mare
- Lama Monachile (Cala Porto), Polignano a Mare
- The old town, Polignano a Mare
- Vieste
- Castello beach (Scialara) and the Lungomare Enrico Mattei, Vieste
Beaches from Gallipoli up to Vieste
Town beaches and the long sands beyond them, in Gallipoli, Porto Cesareo, Otranto, Polignano a Mare and Vieste.
Spiaggia della Purità, Gallipoli
Gallipoli's old town stands on a limestone island joined to the newer town by a bridge. The Purità is a free beach in the old town, a small sandy inlet below the walls, with the church of Santa Maria della Purità facing it and the fornici, old arches in the walls, beside the sand.
Rivabella, Gallipoli
Along the coast north of the town, Rivabella's shore is mostly sand, broken by some stretches of low rock, and the water stays shallow near the beach. Free stretches sit between the beach clubs, so the one you used is the first thing to tell us.
Baia Verde, south of Gallipoli
South of the town, Baia Verde runs for three kilometres of fine white sand, with fairly shallow water near the edge and equipped beaches between free stretches. Its southern end comes just after two large seafront hotels and a small pine wood, where the Pizzo bay begins.
The town beach, Porto Cesareo
Porto Cesareo looks onto the Ionian Sea, with many beach resorts and long stretches of public beach. The sea beds are sandy and the water is not deep. The Isola dei Conigli lies close to the coast in front of the town centre, which gives a swimmer a fixed point for saying how far out they were.
Torre Lapillo and Punta Prosciutto, Porto Cesareo
North of the town, the Torre Lapillo beach runs to Punta Prosciutto, very fine white sand broken by low rocks. Punta Prosciutto carries on towards Torre Colimena, a long and mostly free beach of soft white sand backed by Mediterranean scrub, with shallow water.
The Gradoni and the town beaches, Otranto
The Spiaggia dei Gradoni is on Lungomare Kennedy. At the end of that seafront is the small free beach of the Madonna dell'Altomare, below the rocky ridge that carries the church, and there is another free beach in front of the public gardens. The Lungomare degli Eroi runs at the foot of the old town, past the monument to the Martyrs, and stairs through the Porta Alfonsina lead from it into the old streets.
Alimini and the Baia dei Turchi, north of Otranto
North of Otranto, the Alimini beach has wide stretches of very fine white sand, free and equipped, with dunes and a pine wood between the sea and the two Alimini lakes. The Baia dei Turchi is a white beach set into the rock, with a wall of pines and scrub behind it.
Lama Monachile, Polignano a Mare
The narrow lanes of Polignano's old town slope down towards Lama Monachile, also called Cala Porto, which cuts the cliff in two along the bed of an old river. It is a small public beach of white, smooth pebbles between two high rock walls, with sea caves around it, and you walk down to it from the town centre over the Roman bridge.
The old town, Polignano a Mare
You enter Polignano's historic centre under the Arco Marchesale, also called Porta Grande, and its narrow streets lead out to overlooks above the sea. On the promenade next to Lama Monachile stands the statue of Domenico Modugno, a handy marker if something went missing while you stopped there for photos.
Castello beach, Vieste
The Castello beach, also known as the Scialara, lies south of the town centre beside the Lungomare Enrico Mattei, with the white monolith of Pizzomunno looking over it. It is nearly four kilometres long, with fine, golden sand, private and public beaches side by side, a sandy bottom that slopes very gently, and a small back-dune area towards the far end. You reach the sand through openings along the Lungomare.
The part we take on
One number saved in your phone
Whoever reads your first WhatsApp message is also the one who finds the detectorist and tells you afterwards how the search went.
What you were sitting on
Along with your pins and photos, the detectorist hears what was under you: sand at the Purità, pebbles at Lama Monachile, fine sand on the Castello beach in Vieste.
Poor bets named as such
A ring that went while you were swimming out of your depth is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Costs come up early
We explain the costs before any search is booked, so there is nothing new to learn at the end.
Sand in most places, pebbles at Polignano
Say in your message which of these you were on when it went.
Sandy sea beds
Porto Cesareo has sandy sea beds and water that is not deep. Rivabella is shallow near the shore over a mostly sandy bottom. On the Castello beach in Vieste the sandy bottom slopes very gently.
Pebbles and cliffs at Polignano
Lama Monachile is white, smooth pebbles between high rock walls, and the cliff Polignano a Mare stands on is full of caves carved by the sea.
Questions about Puglia
I noticed one earring missing after an evening at the Purità in Gallipoli.
The Purità is a small beach, so a pin for where you sat already narrows things a good deal. Tell us whether you stayed on the sand or went into the water, and whether you were nearer the walls or the sea. If you still have the other earring, send a photo of it lying on your palm.
The wedding band was on before a swim at Baia Verde, south of Gallipoli, and not after.
Baia Verde is fine sand with fairly shallow water near the edge, so a swim close in keeps the odds reasonable. Say which beach club or free stretch you were level with, how far along the three kilometres that was from the town, and how deep the water was where you stood.
My watch went while I was swimming off the town beach at Porto Cesareo.
The sea beds off Porto Cesareo are sandy and the water is not deep, which helps. Tell us where on the town beach you went in, and use the Isola dei Conigli, in front of the town centre, to show how far out you were and in which direction. Say how deep the water was at that point.
No find-my-phone app was switched on, and the phone is somewhere on the Spiaggia dei Gradoni in Otranto.
Then it comes down to where you were. Ring it anyway, in case someone picked it up. The Gradoni lies on Lungomare Kennedy in the town itself, so a pin for your spot and the time you left are the start. Tell us the model and send a photo of one like it.
My chain broke on the small beach below the Madonna dell'Altomare church in Otranto.
That small free beach sits at the end of Lungomare Kennedy, below the rocky ridge the church stands on. Say whether you lay near the foot of the ridge or down by the water, whether you swam, and how long the chain is. Mention a pendant if there was one.
Lama Monachile was packed, and somewhere on its pebbles I lost my Oura ring.
Lama Monachile is a small cove of white, smooth pebbles between two high rock walls, reached on foot from the town centre over the Roman bridge. Tell us which wall you were nearer and how far you sat from the water. It is always crowded in summer, so the time of day you were there belongs in the message too.
We have been through our bags twice, and the car keys from our day on the Castello beach in Vieste are not there.
The Castello beach lies south of the town centre, between the sea and the Lungomare Enrico Mattei, with the white monolith of Pizzomunno looking over it. Tell us which opening on the Lungomare you came through, and send a photo from your spot with the monolith in it. If the keys went into the sea with you, say so.
We were only in Polignano a Mare for the day, and I noticed the bracelet was gone on the way back.
Then list the day as it went: where you came into the old town, the lanes and sea views you stopped at, and whether you went down to Lama Monachile. The historic centre is a maze of narrow streets, so the places you ate or sat down make the best markers. The way down to the beach crosses the bridge behind the cove, so say whether you took it.
Puglia
Write while the day is still clear in your head
Holiday over or not, the first message looks the same.
Your first WhatsApp message only needs what is missing and where you were when it went. Add a pin if you have one, and we ask for anything else in the replies.