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Puglia · Frigole / Lecce coast · Lecce · Frigole

Bacino di Acquatina

also known as Specchiulla Lagoon, Acquatina

lagoonbeginner-friendlymedium crowds

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Nearby Frigole under 1 km · Le Cesine - Torre Specchia 15 km · San Foca 21 km · Alimini 32 km · Porto Cesareo 35 km · Torre Mozza 47 km · Gallipoli 48 km · Campomarino di Maruggio 60 km · Torre San Giovanni 63 km · Al Piri 64 km · straight-line distance

Seasonno season namedthe months riders and schools name How windy12 to 25 knotssynoptic Launchlargeaccess rules on record, below Waterlagoon26.6°C in summer · 7 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools3named at this spot From the airportno transfer time publishedBrindisi Airport / Aeroporto del Salento

When it fills in

No daily cycle to plan around. Tramontana is synoptic: either it is in the forecast and running from morning to night, or the basin does nothing all day.

Bacino di Acquatina, also called Specchiulla Lagoon, is an artificial lagoon behind the coast road north of Frigole on the Lecce shore, and it works when Tramontana blows from the north. The water is flat and dark, the bottom muddy, so come for the surface and not for the colour.

A narrow sand strip is all that stands between the lagoon and the Adriatic, and riders who want waves carry across and ride outside. It is tide independent and large enough for several riders at once, though a good north day fills it.

Kites run 8-9 m, 10-11 m and 12-13 m across roughly 12 to 25 knots; the nearest wind statistic to the lagoon is a 9 kts annual average at Lecce Galatina Airport, which is inland and of little use here.

This is a protected coastal wetland, and no kite-specific rule was found either permitting or forbidding riding, so ask in Frigole before you pump. Summer water sits at 26.6 C, winter around 13.7 C. The record here is thinner than for Frigole: no local school page, no municipal regulation for the lagoon itself.

The wind

locals call it Tramontana

Direction

Kite sizes

6789101112131415

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

synoptic

fills in: No daily cycle to plan around. Tramontana is synoptic: either it is in the forecast and running from morning to night, or the basin does nothing all day.

Typical strength

12 to 25 knots on a working Tramontana day, which is the whole usable range here. Below that the basin turns to a mirror, and there is no thermal to fill it in later.

Flat water whenever the north wind blows. No other working direction is documented for the lagoon.

Also on record

9 kts annual average at Lecce Galatina Airport, the nearest statistics station found

The quiver, in words

8-9 m, 10-11 m and 12-13 m depending on wind strength from about 12 to 25 knots

Direction to shore

The basin lies behind the dune and runs about 2 km parallel to a shore that faces east-northeast, an orientation read off the map rather than reported locally.A north Tramontana blows along that long axis instead of across it, which is where the flat water comes from; your downwind end is the far end of the lagoon, not the beach.

Dominant direction

Forecast

Month by month

Jan44
Feb44
Mar39
Apr32
May34
Jun27
Jul45
Aug47
Sep37
Oct35
Nov38
Dec39

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

44%Jan14°
44%Feb14°
39%Mar15°
32%Apr16°
34%May19°
27%Jun24°
45%Jul28°
47%Aug28°
37%Sep26°
35%Oct23°
38%Nov19°
39%Dec16°

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	From	Peaks at	Air	Water	Readings
Jan	44%	63%	52%	12.8 kt	N	14:00	10.9°C	14.4°C	62
Feb	44%	54%	49%	11.8 kt	N	13:00	11.1°C	13.9°C	57
Mar	39%	56%	42%	12.3 kt	SSE	13:00	12.1°C	14.8°C	62
Apr	32%	47%	38%	11.2 kt	NNW	14:00	14.7°C	16.2°C	60
May	34%	56%	42%	11.7 kt	NNW	14:00	19.5°C	19°C	62
Jun	27%	47%	38%	11.1 kt	NNW	14:00	24.7°C	24°C	60
Jul	45%	55%	50%	11.8 kt	NNW	14:00	27.8°C	27.8°C	62
Aug	47%	60%	53%	12.2 kt	NNW	13:00	27.3°C	28.3°C	62
Sep	37%	55%	45%	11.8 kt	NNW	13:00	23.8°C	26.4°C	60
Oct	35%	45%	39%	10.7 kt	NNW	14:00	20.1°C	22.7°C	62
Nov	38%	50%	45%	11.9 kt	NNW	12:00	15.6°C	18.7°C	60
Dec	39%	47%	40%	11.8 kt	NNW	11:00	12.5°C	15.8°C	62

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal. A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024

The water

Type

lagoon

Standing depth

Unconfirmed. No depth figure for the basin has been published anywhere. The standing advice is shoes for the bottom, which reads as wadeable at the launch bank, but treat that as a hint and not a measurement.

Tides

Tide independent.

Temperature

26.6°C summer · 13.7°C winter

Wetsuit

Swimwear or a shorty through most of summer; the winter water around 13-14 C needs a full suit.

14–28°C water

Artificial coastal lagoon: flat water, dark, with a muddy bottom. It faces the sea across a narrow sand strip, and you can carry over for waves in the open water.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Quite safe, and big enough to hold several riders at once. Beginner suitability is inferred from the flat water and a thin record rather than confirmed by a school.

The scene

What riders come here for

flatwaterlearningfreestyle

A good wind day gets crowded, though the lagoon is big enough that several riders fit without crossing each other.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: large

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Frigole, under 1 km

Frigole Le Cesine - Torre Specchia San Foca

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

+39 328 4260226

None. This is inland brackish water with no lifeguard, no club hut and no patrol, and it sits inside a university-managed nature oasis rather than a beach concession, so nothing is staffed.

For the sea on the far side of the dune the coastguard answers on 1530. The nearest kite operation with a boat is the Frigole-based crew on +39 328 4260226, which is a school and not a rescue service.

Launch

Sand-strip lagoon launch between Casalabate and San Cataldo, reached by a dirt road off the SP133 coastal road: about 2-3 km south of Torre Chianca if you come from Brindisi, about 1 km north of Frigole if you come from the south.

Space

large

Rules & access

No kite-specific rule was found, permitting or forbidding. What is on record for 2026: the basin is a 45-hectare brackish coastal lagoon inside a 100-hectare protected oasis, EUAP code 0437, managed by the University of Salento's department of biological and environmental sciences and technologies, so access sits with the managing body rather than with a municipality.

On the beach in front, Regione Puglia's 2026 bathing ordinance applies: season 23 May to 13 September, sea within 200 m of the shore reserved for swimmers around the clock during it, and launch corridors laid out by the coastal municipality under the maritime authority's ordinance.

There is no authorised watersports facility on the basin; local proposals to create one are still proposals.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Come on north-wind Tramontana days; the lagoon does nothing without them.
Turn off the SP133 onto the dirt road about 2-3 km south of Torre Chianca coming from Brindisi, or about 1 km north of Frigole coming from the south.
Ask a local school about access first: the basin is a protected wetland and no kite rule was found for it.
Expect muddy water, not clear sea.

Getting there

Airport

Brindisi Airport / Aeroporto del Salento

Route

The lagoon sits just north of Frigole on the Lecce stretch of the Adriatic coast. Detailed public-access directions are unconfirmed.

Staying

Stay in Frigole or Lecce; nothing lagoon-side is confirmed.

No-wind days

Lecce · Frigole · San Cataldo · Otranto

Photos

Torre Chianca vista Adriatico Sud — Florixc, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

What is the wind like?

The lagoon works when Tramontana blows from the north, giving flat water.

Is it suitable for beginners?

Yes, the lagoon is described as quite safe and large enough for several riders, though good wind days can get crowded.

What are the main hazards?

The water is dark and muddy, and it is a natural wetland setting where local restrictions may apply even though no specific kite rule was found.

Are there kite schools or rental?

Aloha Kite Team and Locals Crew ASD/Local Salento Kitesurf are listed nearby.

Last updated: August 2026