Our journey to the heel

Despite having been to Italy together on four previous occasions, we had never been south of Rome. We are making up for that now. We went to Naples in December and earlier this month took a few days to trek down to Bari and Lecce in Puglia, which are in the heel of the boot that is Italy.

Bari is all the way across the country on the other coast on the Adriatic Sea (I will never get used to saying sea instead of ocean). It was a four hour ride on the high-speed train. It has a charming old city (“Bari Vecchia”) with many buildings made of a stone that reminded me of our trip to Jerusalem. There were also buildings built in the Greek island style. This all makes sense because this side of Italy is close to Greece in particular, and it influenced the culture. Even today you can take a ferry to Greece from Bari.

We went to an evening Mass at the Basilica of Saint Nicholas. That’s right – Santa Claus himself is buried here. All of a sudden during Mass we heard drums from outside the church coming closer and the next thing we knew, it sounded as though they were right outside. I resisted the urge to jump right up and see what was going on (we all know I like a good festa). After Mass we went outside to be met by a drums corp lined up on the steps of the basilica. Across the small piazza they were performing a Nativity pageant for the Epiphany.

My favorite part of this photo is the little boy with his drum on the right.

How lucky of us to happen upon this! There were Christmas carols and a nice community atmosphere. At the end the drums started up again and fireworks were lit from an adjacent building. This is just one of the many things I love about Italy, a real sense of community and tradition in these smaller towns.

Fireworks at the Basilica di San Nichola

Basilica di San Nichola

Going out for dinner in Bari, we got our first real sense of what life in the South is like. We showed up at the restaurant at 8:25 pm, and it was empty. When we went in we were told that we were “un po’ presto” (a little early). We had heard that they ate late in the South, and it was true!

After one day and night in Bari, we headed further south to Lecce.  On the way we stopped in Alberobello for a quick look at the trulli (the singular is “trullo”). Trulli are homes that are unique to this part of Italy. They were made without mortar and the intent was that they could be completely taken apart and reconstructed quickly.  I think it had something to do with taxes….

The symbols on the roofs of the trulli were to protect the homes.

In Alberobello there is a “trulli village” where many trulli are closely grouped together. They can also be seen as single units in the countryside amongst olive trees and vineyards. In the village many of the trulli have been converted to stores. We got an impromptu tour of one of the larger ones. Of course, we somehow managed to buy wine, olive oil and pasta here. Each area of Italy has a type of pasta that is traditional to it. In Puglia (this part of Italy) it is orchiette or “little ears.” I couldn’t possibly have left without at least one package. Kevin had been trying to get me to buy some earrings, but I have never been good at that. He commented that I was one of the few women who would rather buy food than jewelry. I like to think that it is because the food is something we can enjoy together.

Lecce is a full hour and half farther south from Bari in the very bottom of the heel, which meant we were now five and half hours south of Rome on the high-speed train. Lecce is known as the Florence of the South for its beautiful Baroque buildings. While I have often commented that the Baroque style in Rome is sometimes over the top and overwhelming because of all the colored marble and gold, we found the Baroque architecture in Lecce to be quite soft and appealing. It is all done with a pale yellow stone called Petra that is local to the area. While the carvings are quite elaborate, the color does not overwhelm.

Detail of baroque

We yet again got a feel for the Italian South in Lecce. During the mornings and evenings the streets were full of people walking around, but from approximately 1 pm to 5 pm it literally looked like a ghost town. It seemed as though we were the only ones on the street, and almost everything was closed up tight for the siesta. When we asked at the hotel for a restaurant recommendation he started with, “Remember you are in the South. Restaurants don’t open for dinner until 8 pm and even that is early.” Indeed when we finished up dinner one night at 10 pm there was a line of people waiting to be seated.

Where is everyone?

Interior of Lecce cathedral

Warming up with Primitivo and burrata cheese. Yum!

Lecce cathedral

While only there for a few days, we decided we could both get used to living in Lecce. It clearly was a city of sophistication but also moves at a slower pace. We look forward to a return trip to the heel.