Lecce

25 Friday Sep 2020

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Architecture, Italia, Photography, Travel

Tags

Barocco Leccese, Baroque art, Negroamaro, Puglia, Salento, Southern Italy, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Lecce reminds me of a Caravaggio painting-Baroque, dramatic and opulent, with attention to detail. It is unfortunate he did not live long enough to visit the city! Lecce, in the Salento area of Southern Puglia is over 2000 years old and rich in tradition and local customs. Originally called Syvar, it was founded by the Mesapii(Mesapians) from Crete. There is a long history of Greek settlement here, in fact there is still a group of 9 towns called ‘Grecia Salentino’ where ‘Griko’ dialetto is spoken.

Conquered by the Romans in the 3^rd Century BC, it was renamed Lupiae. Hadrian moved the city 3 Km northeast in the 2^nd Century AD and called it Licea. Then came the Byzantines in 549, followed by Orthodox monks. Lecce and the Salento were an independent country from 1043 until 1463 when Emperor Carlo V conquered Puglia, and they became part of the Kingdom of Napoli until Italian unification in 1861. Lecce was an important commercial city, with a building and cultural boom.

Lecce is best known for its dramatic Baroque architecture and ornamentation, which even has its own name-Barocco Leccese. The style was around from the mid 1500’s to the early 1700’s, so even among buildings constructed at different times there is continuity of style.

The Baroque style features over the top details and intricate carvings that create a sense of movement. Barocco Leccese is even more expressive and unique. Windows, balconies and loggias are elaborately ornamented with twisting columns, scrolls and cornices. They are carved with human figures, animals, wreaths, vines and gargoyles. There is also a lot of marble, gilt and bronze involved. Corbels supporting balconies are a common decorative element in Lecce.

‘Salento and the Barocco Leccese, including Lecce, Nardò, Gallipoli, Martina Franca, Ostuni, Francavilla, Galatina and Galatone’ are on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list since 2006. This is the step before becoming a World Heritage Site.

Lecce’s buildings are made of Pietra Leccese, a local, honey coloured porous limestone. It is soft and workable for sculpture, and was hardened and weatherproofed by soaking in a liquid solution made with whole milk. Pietra Leccese is still one of the area’s main exports, mined in open quarries.

What to see in Lecce:

The Centro Storico of Lecce, with its narrow stone streets, 22 churches and unique architecture is a historically preserved walking museum. It is mostly pedestrian only and very walkable. After dark the streets are lined with outdoor seating for vino and aperitivo, and everyone is out for passeggiata.

Lecce’s defensive walls are gone, but 3 gates remain: Porta Rudiae, Porta San Biagio and Porta Napoli, which marked the starting point of the road to Napoli.

The 2 main piazze are Piazza Duomo and Piazza Sant’Oronzo, which are connected by Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Piazza Duomo is a large open space, but you can almost walk by and miss it! There is only one entrance, and it is closed off on 3 sides. The Duomo is unique as it has 2 facades. This was done so that visitors to the piazza did not have to face a big blank side wall as they entered. The Campanile is the tallest in Italia at 68 m. Piazza Duomo also contains the Palazzo Vescovile and Seminario, which is used mainly for exhibitions.

Piazza Sant’Oronzo, named for the first Christian bishop and the patron saint of Lecce, was the site of the mercato. The 2^nd Century AD Roman anfiteatro was discovered in 1901 during construction of a new Banca d’Italia. The 20,000 seat arena was originally built outside of the walls of Lecce and was still in use in the 12^thCentury. More than half of it has not been excavated!

Looking down over the anfiteatro is Il Sedile, a 1590 Gothic structure which was the seat of the town hall. It is now the Tourist information office.

The Colonna di S Oronzo, is a column topped with a bronze statue of Sant’Oronzo. It was originally built in 110 AD-one of a pair of Turkish marble columns marking the end of the Via Appia from Roma to Brindisi. This one toppled and broke in 1528 and its twin is still standing in Brindisi. In 1659, the broken remains were given to Lecce to thank Sant’Oronzo for saving Brindisi from the 1656 plague. The Brindisini have wanted it back ever since!

Not far from the piazza is Museo Faggiano- a unique museum, especially for archeology nerds like me! Plumbing issues result in DIY renovations that uncover layers of history…..Blog post coming!

Santa Croce’s façade is the masterpiece of Barocco Leccese. It took 200 years to build. The exterior was recently cleaned and renovated. The interior has a gilded coffered ceiling and 14 chapels with carved, twisting columns.

Sant’Irene is dedicated to the ancient protector of the city 1591-1639. The interior is simple, but has twin Baroque side altars. My amazing balcony at Palazzo Belli B&B looked out onto the side entrance.

Santa Chiara built in 1687 has an unusual façade and an extravagant interior with a wooden ceiling. There are loads of other beautiful churches to see in Lecce, but i have only mentioned the main ones.

Sometimes the scenery looks like an old movie set! Walk down Via Palmieri, lined with grand palazzi, ending at Porta Napoli.

Things I did not have time to see include the Castello Carlo V and its carta pesta (papier maché) museum, the Teatro Romano and the Museo Provinciale.

Lecce is a great place to shop. Specialties include colourful Pugliese ceramics, carta pesta, olive oil and vino. Lecce observes the pausa pranzo which means shops are closed from 2-5pm.

Make sure to try pasticciotto. My favourite is the kind with crema and amarena. Yum! Sit outside to have Caffè Leccese –espresso on ice with almond milk and of course local vino, especially my favourite-Negroamaro. Here is my cena with Negroamaro rosé.

Since the centro storico is car free, dealing with a car in Lecce can be a pain. During high season, it is easier to get around by bus or local train. During low season, a car will make it easier to visit places that are not on the main train line. Lecce is between 2 seas, the Adriatic is 11km away and the Ionian 23 km away.

Lecce (pop. 96,000) is on the Adriatico train route that starts in Bologna. The Stazione is a flat walk, 1 km south of the Centro Storico. Last year, I took the train from Foggia (3 hours) staying 3 days in Lecce and 1 in Nardò. It was late July/early August, and not crowded at all. I booked my train and accomodation 3 days in advance. Try to avoid making Lecce a daytrip, as you will miss the beautiful evenings and fun nightlife. I am looking forward to going back as soon as possible!

Buon viaggio, Cristina

Trani

30 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Architecture, Italia, Photography, Puglia, Travel

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

Diomedes, Italy travel tips, Puglia, Romanico Pugliese, San Nicola Pellegrino, Southern Italy, Trani, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

A crescent shaped port, fishermen selling their catch on the waterfront, a timeless, picturesque centro storico that looks like it could be a movie set, a castle, and a stunning limestone Romanesque cathedral right at the water’s edge where you expect to find a lighthouse. These are some of the reasons why Trani is one of my favourite day trips. It is a beautiful, peaceful, uncrowded fishing port on the Adriatic, between Barletta and Bari. Trani is on the main ‘Adriatico’ railway line so it is easily accessible without a car.

Trani is ancient Tirenum, allegedly founded by Tirenus, son of Diomede. Trani is famous for issuing the ‘Ordinamenta et consultudo Maris’ in 1063. This is the oldest surviving maritime law code in the west. The street along the harbor is called ‘Via Statuti Marittimi’. Trani is also known for Moscato di Trani, figs, almonds and olive oil.

During the rule of Federico Secondo (aka Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II) in the early 13th Century, Trani became an important political center and trading port with the Orient. Since Trani was on the pilgrimage route to the Holy Land it grew and prospered. Trani also had a close diplomatic and trading relationship with Venezia.When I got off the train in Trani, I walked about half an hour, straight to the cathedral. I am a big fan of Romanico Pugliese (Pugliese Romanesque), an 11th-13th Century architectural style unique to Puglia. Romanico Pugliese includes classic Romanesque features such as tall facades, campanili and rose windows, blended with Byzantine and Islamic architectural details. In fact, since 2006, the Romanico Pugliese churches in Puglia are on the the UNESCO World Heritage Sites tentative list. This is the step before becoming a World Heritage Site.The Trani cathedral was built in 1099 out of local tufo, a creamy coloured limestone that almost seems to glow in the sun. One of the oldest and largest cathedrals in Puglia, it was used as a model for the ones built later. It was named for San Nicola Pellegrino (the Pilgrim), a 19 year old Greek shepherd who died while on pilgrimage in Trani in 1094. His bones are in the crypt. Note….this is not the same San Nicola who is buried in Bari and is the inspiration for Santa Claus. Trani’s cathedral was constructed on layers of history. It was built over the foundations of a 5th Century Byzantine church, Santa Maria della Scala, which was built over the Roman crypt of San Leucio. Both of these ‘layers’ are accessible. The beautiful bronze doors are a copy. The original doors are on display inside. The 32 panels were sculpted by Barisano di Trani who also did work on the cathedrals in Ravenna and Monreale. The 60m high campanile built in 1239 has square corners and an octagonal spire. The number of windows increase with each floor. The campanile was being renovated when I was there, so I have included a photo I took in 1994 without the scaffolding.

Trani 1994

Right on the harbour is the Chiesa di Ognissanti, built in the 12th Century by the Knights Templar in the courtyard of their hospital. Trani was on the route to the Holy Land and the knights had a hospital here for those wounded in the crusades. It is not open to the public.At the far end of the harbour, the Villa Comunale is a park with benches and a seaside walk. The breakwater near the Cathedral is a nice place to sit and soak up the sun or go for a swim.

Federico II built the Castello Svevo in 1249. It has square towers at each corner. The sea water moat was filled in. From the 1800’s-1974 the castello was used as a prison. Now it is open to visitors and hosts cultural events. Admission is €3.

Trani once had southern Italia’s largest Giudecca community or Jewish neighborhood. It was not a ghetto, as it was not closed off. There were once 4 synagogues. The Scolanova Synagogue spent centuries as a church, but in 2006 it was rededicated as a synagogue.

Trani is small enough that you can walk everywhere. From the Stazione, walk straight out and turn left at Piazza della Repubblica. There is an info point here. It is about a half hour walk along quiet streets with beautiful palazzi to the cathedral and port. Just ask a local for ‘Il Porto’ if you need directions. Shops are closed from 1-5 pm.

For seafood lovers, the port has many excellent restaurants. My cousins had given me 3 restaurant recommendations. It was such a beautiful sunny day I just wanted to sit near the breakwater and enjoy the sea. I had a mad craving for polipo-octopus. I ended up getting a take away insalata di polipo and a glass of Falanghina. It was perfect!

Trani is a great base to stay for exploring several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Castel del Monte, Alberobello and Matera are all about 1 hour away.

Ciao e buon viaggio, Cristina

Campeggio sul Gargano

29 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Italia, Photography, Puglia, Travel

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Arco San Felice, Baia delle Zagare, Gargano campsites, Il Gargano, Isole Tremiti, Italy travel tips, Mattinata, Parco Nazionale del Gargano, Puglia, Trabucchi del Gargano, Vieste, Vignanotica

Dovè la primavera? It was a long, cold winter, with far too much snow. Now la pioggia has set in. I am dreaming about il caldo, il sole e la spiaggia-warm weather, sunshine and the beach! I have had the opportunity over the last few years, to spend many weekends at different sites in the Gargano (gar·GAH·noh) with my cugini and their camper. I would love to be there now! To get ready for summer and welcome warmer weather, I am sharing my favourite scatti from my Gargano travels.

II Arco San Felice

Il Promontorio del Gargano is the promontory sticking out above ‘il tacco’, the heel of Italia. You can also think of it as la caviglia-the ankle spur of Italia. One of the most beautiful areas on earth, Il Gargano has unique flora and fauna. Biodiversity wise the area is more like an island-an island surrounded on 3 sides by the Adriatico with 1 side attached to Italia. Most of the promontorio is a protected area and marine reserve, Il Parco Nazionale del Gargano, which includes le Isole Tremiti and the ancient Foresta Umbra. Luckily this has prevented the area from being overdeveloped with large multinational hotels and resorts.

Il Gargano is famous for picchi (woodpeckers) and many other birds, 300 varieties of orchids, almonds and olives. There are also endless ancient hillside olive groves, pine forests, sea grotte, limestone cliffs, rocky shores, crystalline water and fresh seafood. The coast between Peschici and Vieste has 13 working trabucchi, fascinating ancient fishing contraptions which I wrote about in this post.

Trabucco Punta Lunga

The winding road around the Gargano, SS 89 from Foggia, has sharp turns and viste mozzafiato (VIS·teh moz·zah·FYAH·toh)-breathtaking views. One of my favourite viewpoints is La Baia delle Zagare. Here you can see the clifftop 4 star resort of the same name, and its private spiaggia. There is a glass elevator built into the cliff-something I have to see for myself one of these days!

Baia delle Zagare

View of Vieste from the SS89

Il Gargano is full of campsites, inexpensive accommodation and B & B’s. The campeggi e villaggi turistici -campsites and tourist villages, are ben attrezzati (well-equipped). You can camp with a camper and all the accessories, or just a vehicle and a tent. There are also villette-little cabins that can be rented, but you have to bring your own sheets and towels, so these are mostly used by locals. Some campsites even have a small hotel attached. This website (in Italiano) lists Gargano campsites. I have stayed right by the water and in an olive grove near Mattinata, and had a view of the beach near Vieste.

View from the camper, Punta Lunga, Vieste

Our setup is always comfortable and rustic, but some of the things you see at the campeggi are hard to believe. Families set up for the whole summer, with those working joining in on the weekends. I have seen TV with satellite, ceiling fans, generators and portable kitchen tents. Last year at Camping degli Ulivi in Mattinata, the family across from us had brought 5 kinds of brooms!

Ancient olive trees provide an interesting handwashing station, and a place to store 5 different brooms at Camping degli Ulivi

No yucky dehydrated camping food is found here! Fresh seafood is available from the mobile fishmonger il pescivendolo (pesh·ee·ven·DOH·loh) driving around to the different campsites. At Villaggio Camping Punta Lunga, we walked 2 km to Vieste to il pescivendolo along the amazing clifftop trail.

View from the 2km clifftop trail to Vieste

Vignanotica is between Mattinata and Pugnochiuso, closer to Pugnochiuso. It is surrounded by a wall of limestone cliffs and is only accessible by walking down the steep hill. Inaccessibility prevents development on the spiaggia. Parking is available in an olive grove, right under the olive trees for €7 and there is a shuttle down to the beach. Vignanotica can be crowded on Sundays in the summer. There is a small bar on the beach. Vignanotica is in sun until about 2pm, then it is in full shade from the cliffs. Some of the Gargano beaches, including Vignanotica, Mattinata and l’Isole Tremiti are rocky, so water shoes are needed to walk in the water.

Vignanotica. The tiny people walking on the beach provide scale for the limestone cliffs.

Most of the tourists visiting the Gargano area are Italian, especially in the summer. Many Germans bring their campers too, but you do not meet a lot of North Americans here. Il Gargano is the place to visit if you want to improve your Italiano.The closest major airport for Il Gargano is Bari. The airport in Foggia sometimes has flights to and from Milano, but usually it just has Alidaunia helicopter service to le Isole Tremiti, San Giovanni Rotondo, Vieste and Peschici. It is difficult to get around the Gargano without a car unless you have lots of time. The SS 89 from Foggia is the major road. On the way, be sure to stop and visit Santa Maria di Siponto near Manfredonia. There is no rail service after Foggia, except a local train from San Severo to Peschici. Ferrovie del Gargano buses outside the Foggia stazione leave for towns in the Gargano, but they are not frequent . Parkinbici is a bikesharing service between Gargano towns. For visitors, a weekly card is € 20 and weekend € 12.

Flying into San Domino by helicopter

As the Gargano website says, visit il Gargano ‘per una vacanza tra natura, mare e cultura’…for a holiday among nature, sea and culture! Buon Viaggio, Cristina

Santa Maria di Siponto~ Art reconstructs time

21 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Architecture, Italia, Puglia

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Edoardo Tresoldi, Il Gargano, Parco Archeologico Santa Maria di Siponto, Puglia, Santa Maria di Siponto, Southern Italy

Santa Maria di Siponto is just off the SS 89 Garganica highway, 3km from Manfredonia. The church was built in 1117 over an existing early Christian structure. The architectural style is Romanica Pugliese, Pugliese Romanesque with Byzantine and Islamic influences evident in its pure, simple lines and geometric patterns. The building is unusual as it is square and there are 2 independent churches; the upper church and the crypt below, with an external staircase.

To the left of the church is the Parco Archeologico di Santa Maria di Siponto. Until March 2016, this consisted of the ruins of a Paleochristian basilica (250 AD) with a semi-circular apse and mosaic pavement, and the partially excavated remains of Ancient Roman Sipontium. Now the space once occupied by the basilica has been transformed into a magnificent sculpture titled ‘Dove l’arte riconstruisce il tempo’ which means ‘Where art reconstructs time’. The permanent installation took 3 months to construct and is built right onto the foundations of the archeological remains.

The installation/sculpture is made of layers of wire mesh that overlap and intersect, interpreting and reclaiming the space and volume once occupied by a structure that no longer exists. The lightness and transparency of the material makes it look like a hologram of the original church…it is there, but it is no longer there. The site is also illuminated at night, creating a ‘ghostly’ effect. Contemporary art and archeology intersect to form a link with the past. 14 m high and weighing 6,000 kg, this is probably the largest structure in the world made entirely of wire mesh.

I have been to Santa Maria di Siponto many times since I was a child. I am a total archeology nerd, and I was excited to see this construction breathing new life into this small archeological site, relatively unknown outside of Puglia. It feels like the basilica has been resurrected from the ruins. I have not seen anything like this before and it is already a distinctive landmark, especially since it is visible from the highway. In 5 months it has already brought 100,000 visitors to the site and contributed to the local economy.

The artist, Edoardo Tresoldi, a 29 year old set designer and sculptor in Roma, is known for his monumental metallic wire mesh sculptures, integrating into their surroundings. His website is still under construction. He must be too busy making great art!Santa Maria di Siponto is definitely worth a visit. If you have plans to visit the Gargano area, especially Monte Sant’ Angelo, San Giovanni Rotondo, Manfredonia or Mattinata, it is fairly close by. It is definitely easiest to get there with your own vehicle, although it is possible to get to Foggia, then Manfredonia by train or bus and then taxi to the site. Buon Viaggio, Cristina

Margherita di Savoia

20 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Italian language, Mangiamo!

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Capanna Regina Margherita, Grand Hotel Terme, Italian food, Italian history, Margherita di Savoia, Pizza Margherita, Puglia, Savoiardi

A few nights ago I was at my favourite pizzeria having a pizza Margherita. This made me think about Margherita di Savoia, and all the random connections to her name. Margherita di Savoia (Mar·gehr∙EE∙tah dee Sah∙VOH∙yah) lived from 1851-1926. She became the first Queen of Italia when her husband, Umberto I di Savoia became King. They had one son born in 1870, and he became King Vittorio Emanuele III in 1900 after the assassination of Umberto by an anarchist.

Regina Margherita was a great supporter of the arts and ‘opere di beneficenza’ – charitable works. She encouraged artists and writers and was involved with the Red Cross. During the war, she turned her house in Roma into a hospital. Margherita loved hiking and driving. The Royal garage was filled with cars named after birds. After her death, the cars were auctioned off for charity. In 1893, she climbed the peak of Monte Rosa in the Alps for the opening of Capanna Regina Margherita, the highest mountain hut in Europe.

Margherita was extremely popular with the public. On her visit to Napoli in 1889, she took off her gloves to eat a chicken leg with her hands, which is the origin of the saying ‘Anche la regina Margherita mangia il pollo con le dita/ Even Regina Margherita eats chicken with her fingers’. Unfortunately Margherita’s political views leaned towards fascism in her later years, but fortunately that isn’t one of my random connections!

My list of random connections to Margherita di Savoia:

1-Pizza Margherita. In 1889, in honour of the royal visit to Napoli, Raffaele Esposito of Pizzeria Brandi ‘created’ pizza Margherita topped with pomodoro, mozzarella and basilico (tomato, mozzarella and basil) to represent the colours of the Italian flag. In reality these pizza toppings were already being used in Napoli, so it was the name created by pizzaiolo Raffaele. I remember having a delicious calzone a long time ago in Montaguto called ‘Le Mutande della Regina’. It was filled with Margherita toppings, and the calzone was left a bit open on the 2 sides, with sausage meat spilling out so they looked like frilly underwear!

2-Margherita di Savoia, Puglia. In the summer, there is a direct bus from Orsara di Puglia to Margherita di Savoia, a seaside thermal spa town in the province of Barletta 2 hours away. Before 1879, it was called Saline di Barletta because of the saltworks. Salt has been collected here since the Roman times. Approaching Margherita, the salt looks like snowy mountains by the beach. The water is very salty and therapeutic, and the Grand Hotel Terme di Margherita is known for ‘fanghi’ salty mud treatments.

3-The Pantheon. Regina Margherita is buried with her husband Umberto in my favourite architectural masterpiece.

4-Tiramisù. Savoiardi are named after the Savoia family. They were the 15^th Century official court biscuit of the House of Savoia, created in honour of a visit from the King of France. Without savoiardi, there would be no tiramisu.

5-Forza Azzurri! The Italian National Team wear azzurro, the colour of the House of Savoia.

6-My address! In Orsara di Puglia, I live on Via Regina Margherita.

The last one is my favourite Margherita! The word ‘margherita’ means daisy, as in the flower. Can you think of other random Margherita connections?

*Portrait of Margherita di Savoia 1881 from Wikimedia Commons

San Nicola

10 Thursday Dec 2015

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Culture, Feste

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Babbo Natale, Bari, Basilica di San Nicola di Bari, Christmas, Natale, Puglia, San Nicola, San Nikolaos, Santa Claus, St Nicholas, Traditional Christmas stories

December 6^th is the festa di San Nicola (Nee·KOHL·ah). San Nicola-or St Nicolas, was Nikolaos of Myra, a 4^th Century bishop in Greek Anatolia, which is now Turkey. He was the only child of wealthy parents who died when he was young. He gave away all of his inheritance to help the poor and the sick and became known for his generosity, love of children, and the sea. Nicola is both a popular Christian and Orthodox Saint. Many European and Eastern Orthodox countries celebrate his feast day with gifts for children, who leave their shoes out on the night of December 5th. He is the Patron Saint of children, sailors, archers, pharmacists, harbours, the falsely accused, Amsterdam, Moscow, Russia, Galway and Greece!

San Nicola had a reputation for secret gift-giving and his legends grew after he died. In one of the most famous, he helped a poor man who could not afford dowries for his 3 daughters. Without dowries, they were unlikely to be able to marry, and would be assumed to be prostitutes or end up being sold into slavery. Nicola helped the family, but did not want to cause the father the humiliation of accepting charity. Over a period of 3 nights he went to the house. On the first 2 nights, he threw a purse filled with gold coins in through the window. The purses landed in stockings the daughters had hung by the chimney to dry. On the third night, the father had closed the window and waited by the door, so he could find out who the gift-giver was. Instead of going in through the door, Nicola dropped the bag down the chimney and it landed in the shoes drying by the fire.

San Nicola’s tomb in Anatolia became a popular place of pilgrimage. It seems things haven’t changed a lot since the 4^th Century in that part of the world. Due to wars in the area, there was concern for the safety of pilgrims and access to the tomb. In 1087, sailors from Bari took the bones from the tomb home and the Basilica of San Nicola di Bari was built over his crypt. San Nicola di Bari was one of medieval Europe’s most famous places of pilgrimage. The Barese sailors must have been in a hurry because they left a few bones in the grave. These fragments were taken to Venezia where the church of San Nicolò al Lido was built. In the Middle Ages, people went crazy for relics-parts of holy persons’ bodies. They were revered and thought to have magical powers. Scientific investigations proved that the bones in Bari and Venezia do belong to the same skeleton!

In a blending of folklore, legend and religion, San Nicola is the model for Santa Claus, whose name comes from phonetic derivation of ‘San Nikolaos’. If you are ever in Bari, visit the tomb of San Nicola. The traditional Italian gift-bearer is La Befana, who arrives on the 6th of January, but now there is also ‘Babbo Natale’ (Father Christmas).

Buon Natale!

Fucacoste e Cocce Priatorje

01 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Culture, Feste, Italian Folklore, Orsara di Puglia, Puglia

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Falò e Teste del Purgatorio, Festa dei Morti, Italian Folklore, Italian history, Muscitaglia, November 1st, Orsara di Puglia, Puglia, Pugliese Traditions, Pumpkin carving, Southern Italy, Traditional Festivals in Puglia, Tutti i Santi Festa, Zucche

Piazza San Pietro. Photo courtesy of International Photo Correspondent Donato Narducci

Tonight is a big festa in Orsara di Puglia, so I am reposting this from last year.

Fucacoste e cocce priatorje is dialetto Orsarese for ‘Falò e teste del Purgatorio’. This translates to ‘Bonfires and heads from purgatory’. It is an ancient festival unique to Orsara di Puglia celebrated on November 1st, the night of ‘Tutti i Santi’ (All Saints Day). All Saints Day was created in the 9th century when the Pope superimposed a Christian feast day onto existing rituals, so this festa has been around for a very long time. It is a night where people have the opportunity to honour, reconnect and pay respect to the spirits of their loved ones. Carabinieri estimate that the town of 3,000 had 40,000 visitors attend the festa tonight, with 9,000 cars parked up to 3 km away!

2014 poster for Fucacoste e cocce priatorje

It is believed that the souls of the dead return among the living to visit their relatives and their former homes before moving on to Paradiso. The bonfires are lit with wood and branches of ginestra (broom). The light of the fires and the crackling and sparks of the ginestra attract the spirits to reunite the living with those who continue to live only in their memories. The souls of the dead loved ones collect ashes from the fires. The gleam of light inside ‘cocce priatorje’, pumpkins carved to look like heads-light their way to find their former home.

Preparation for the festa involves gathering firewood and ginestra, preparing food and carving zucche (pumpkins). There is even a BYOZ (bring your own zucca) pumpkin carving workshop. Later in the evening zucche are exhibited and there is a contest for ‘la zucca più bella’-the best zucca.

In honour of the dead, simple but symbolic foods are prepared. These include potatoes, onions, salsicce (sausages) and castagne (chestnuts) cooked in open fire. Muscitaglia is a traditional dish served on November 1st which probably dates back from the ancient Greeks and Byzantines. Muscitaglia (moo•shee•tah•lyah) in both Greek and Latin is made up of the words mosto (wine must) and talia (grain). The ingredients include boiled grain and vino cotto (literally cooked wine-also called mosto cotto). Pomegranate seeds and walnut pieces are sometimes added. These ingredients are symbols of fertility and abundance, but also of honour and respect for the dead.

Muscitaglia

When the campanile (church bell tower) strikes 1900 hours (7 pm), Orsara di Puglia ‘catches fire’. Over 100 bonfires are simultaneously lit in every street and piazza and remain lit through the night. The fires, pumpkin lanterns, music and people in the streets create a magical, enchanted atmosphere.

Fucacoste e Cocce Priatorje has often been confused with Hallowe’en, but it is a very different event. Besides the fact that the date is different, dressing up in costume is not part of the custom, there is nothing scary about it and there are no evil spirits to chase away. It has more similarities with the Mexican Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead. This is an event about being together in community to celebrate the bond between the living and those who we remember in our hearts, and to remind us that our time on earth is precious.

Watch the video ‘#quinonèhalloween’ featuring 94 year old Z’Gaetan talking about the festa and its significance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W5RD0-9H-A

Read about tonight’s festa (in Italiano) on the Comune di Orsara di Puglia website. For more about Orsara di Puglia read the post ‘Benvenuti ad Orsara di Puglia’. Ci vediamo alla festa!

Fucacoste e Cocce Priatorje, Fontana Sant’Angelo, Orsara di Puglia 2014. Photo courtesy of Donato Narducci

Museo Diocesano, Orsara di Puglia

29 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Art history, Italia, Italian life, Orsara di Puglia, Photography, Puglia

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Italian history, Museo Diocesano Orsara di Puglia, Orsara di Puglia, Palazzo Varo, Puglia, Southern Italy

The last time I was in the Museo Diocesano di Orsara di Puglia was about 1980. It looks as if hardly anyone else has been there either! The Museo is right around the corner from my casa, and it is not usually open. To visit, you need to ask for the person who has the key. Last week I was walking by and noticed it was open as there was a photo exhibit in one of the rooms. As I walked up the stone staircase it was like stepping through time.

My accidental selfie

The Museo occupies part of the upper floor of the Palazzo Varo, a 16th Century building that was part of the Abbazia dell’Angelo. The famiglia Varo sold the palazzo and it became a convent for the ‘Monache Bianche’ or white nuns. When the sisters moved in the 1960’s it became the Scuola Media until a new school was built. In the 1970’s, some of the rooms became a depository for archeological relics and museum items. The bottom floor was recently remodelled into a very nice meeting/conference area. The upper floor has a separate entrance and is in an elegant state of decay, to match the artifacts it is housing.

The collection is actually really impressive and reflects the history of the area. Most of the artifacts, except the sacred items formerly used in the parish, have been donated, collected and collated by volunteers. The Museo encompasses a time span from Neolithic to mid 20th Century. That’s a really long time! The bronze and selce (flint) tools and utensils, earthenware vessels, lamps, tomb decorations and even fragments of a 10th Century pavimento (mosaic pavement) were dug up by contadini (farmers/peasants) while plowing their fields.

Roman lucerne -oil lamps

Ascia e lancie in Bronzo (bronze hatchet and spears)

There are also farm implements, tools, utensils and household items used by local contadini in daily life. The lack of formal organization and cataloguing of the items makes the place so much more interesting. The crumbling, aging plaster walls of the formerly grand Palazzo provide a beautiful, yet ironic backdrop for the crumbling rusted work and field implements used by contadini Orsarese.

The Museo is definitely worth a visit-you need to ask at the Parish or Comune (Town Hall) for someone to let you in. Let me know if you need more info on this, and read Benvenuti ad Orsara di Puglia!

A piattaia, called a ‘scudular’ (scoo.doo.lahr) in Orsarese. I have one just like it, made by a friend of Papà’s. My plates are quite a bit newer though!

I Trulli di Alberobello

24 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Italia, Photography, Puglia, Travel

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Alberobello, Architecture, Bandiera Arancione, Italian history, Italy travel tips, Puglia, Rione Aja Piccola, Rione Monti, Southern Italy, Trulli, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Val d'Itria, Vernacular architecture, Zona dei Trulli

As the car nears Alberobello, trulli (TROOL•lee) start to appear in the rural landscape and my imagination goes into overtime. I hear the tune ‘La-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la’ in my head and I expect i Puffi (the Smurfs) to start dancing around the whitewashed trulli! Too much midday Pugliese sun maybe? Trulli are traditional limestone houses unique to the Val d’Itria in Southern Puglia. They were built ‘a secco’, which means dry-without mortar. Trulli have domed cone-shaped roofs built up of overlapping chiancharelle (kyan•ka•REL•leh)-grey limestone slabs. On the capstone at the top is a decorative pinnacolo (pinnacle). The shape of the pinnacolo is said to be a signature of the stonemason who built it. Some roofs also have mythologic or religious symbols painted on them.

‘La Zona dei Trulli’ includes the areas around Locorotondo, Fasano, Cisternino, Martina Franca, Ceglie Massapica and the largest concentration of 1,620 trulli in Alberobello. Alberobello and its trulli are aUNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO believes Alberobello is an exceptional example of the survival of prehistoric building techniques that are still in use. The fact that the buildings are so well-preserved and still occupied make the site unique.

The word trullo comes from tholos (τρούλος) a variation of the Greek word for cupola or dome. There were already scattered trulli settlements in the Val d’Itria around the year 1000. These gradually grew into villages, later called Aja Piccola and Monti-the 2 trulli districts in Alberobello today. The oldest trulli we know of date back to about 1350 when the Counts Acquaviva of Conversano were given land for their service during the Crusades and colonized the area by moving people from their nearby areas.

Tradition has it that building ‘a secco’ was imposed on the settlers so their houses could be dismantled quickly and easily. At first this was so the Count could easily dispossess villagers of their homes. Later it was a way to evade taxation imposed on each new construction by the King of Napoli. Trulli could be dismantled when the tax collector came by for an inspection, and then reconstructed just as quickly when he left. Trulli came to be known as temporary, unstable field shelters that were not worth taxing.

Trullo Siamese. 2 brothers in love with the same woman lived here. They split it in half and the single brother installed a door into the lane.

In reality, trulli are anything but unstable or primitive. They are built directly on the underlying natural rock and their internal structure is very durable. The thick double walls keep the trullo warm in winter and cool in summer. There are systems for collecting rainwater using eaves projecting at the base of the roof diverting water through a channelled slab into a cistern underneath the trullo. Some trullo homes are made up of groups of 2- 5 trulli. Most historians agree that the building technique for trulli came about due to the area’s geographical conditions and abundance of limestone. The quickie evictions and tax evasion scam came later.

In the early 1600’s there was a group of about 40 trulli in Rione Monti (Monti District) then settlement and trullo construction really expanded with the addition of a bakery, mill, tavern and butcher shop. In 1797 the feudal rule of the Acquaviva family ended when Ferdinand IV, King of Napoli proclaimed the community a ‘citta regia’, or royal town. Alberobello took its name from silva arboris belli, the Latin name for the region.

Inner-city trulli?

Today Rione Monti has 1,030 trulli and Rione Aja Piccola has 590 trulli, many of which are still inhabited as homes by some of Alberobello’s 11,000 residents. You can also find the trullo church of Sant’Antonio di Padova, trullo souvenir shops and ristoranti, and a trullo hotel. In the surrounding countryside there are many trullo masserie (farmhouses) that can be rented.

Exterior of a single trullo and interior of a trullo photo and art gallery

In 2010 along with Orsara di Puglia, Alberobello was distinguished with a Bandiera Arancione (orange flag) designation, a seal of quality from the Touring Club Italiano. Alberobello can be accessed by train or bus from Bari. Although Alberobello is quite ‘touristy’, it still retains its charm and is definitely worth a visit. If you can brave the mid-day sun in the summer, the cast shadows against whitewashed walls are an artist’s and photographer’s dream….but if you start dreaming about i Puffi, you had better go find some shade!

Alberobello souvenirs. A linen towel and my very own very cute trullo. I bought it the first time I visited Alberobello. It’s made of real limestone and chiancharelle.

Not all of the buildings in Alberobello are trulli

Ciao, Cristina

La Montagna Spaccata

17 Sunday May 2015

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Italia, Orsara di Puglia, Photography, Puglia

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Montagna Spaccata, Montaguto, Orsara di Puglia, Parco Eolico di Montaguto, Puglia, Southern Italy

When I am in Orsara di Puglia, I go for a long passeggiata (walk) up the mountain almost every morning. When you spend weeks eating lots of yummy food, this is necessary. Orsara is already at 650-700 m elevation (2300 ft) and my walk is uphill a lot of the way so there is some good altitude there. I leave Orsara via Via Castagneto and take the Via Nuova, go past the Cimitero (cemetary) and then take the uphill zigzags to ‘La Montagna Spaccata’. At one time this was a steep windy dirt road, but now it is paved. I like to call it ‘la palestra di Madre Natura’ or ‘Mother Nature’s gym’. In the early to mid morning and early evening many Orsaresi of all ages are out walking.

‘Spaccata’ means cracked or split, as in split into 2. The reason for the name is that part of the mountain is in Puglia and part in Campania. In fact, Montaguto, the closest village to Orsara, is in Campania, in the province of Avellino. Arriving at the ‘frontiera’ (border), you can see the difference in the asphalt where one regione has stopped paving and the other has started. Just beyond the border is the Parco Eolico di Montaguto (wind farm) and the road also flattens out a lot. I usually walk to this ‘frontiera’ and then walk back down. Sometimes I go father, and a few times I have even walked all the way to Montaguto which is 6 km away.

Montaguto (AV) seen from a distance

I always thought Montagna Spaccata was just a ‘local’ name and that it had a real name. I tried to find out, but no one seemed to know for sure. I did some heavy duty research, consulting wikipedia….oops, I mean my amico Donato, who asked his amico Leonardo who consulted the official IGMI (Istituto Geografico Militare Italiano) military map …..and what do you know, Montagna Spaccata is the actual name!

View of Orsara di Puglia

I love my morning passeggiata. I can breathe in fresh aria di montagna (mountain air) and get some exercise-aka an excuse to eat more! I also enjoy and photograph some breathtaking scenery and views of Orsara di Puglia and even meet friends along the way. See for yourself…..