Saturday October 23 was very warm with a high of 24C. We were up early to be picked up for our tour of Galatina, Gallipoli, Santa Maria di Leuca, Castro and Otranto. Some of stops were going to be short, but we were going to have longer stops at both Gallipoli and Otranto.
The driver picked us up in a mini-van at 8:50 a.m. as promised, and then we had a bit of a bumpy start. First off, he was a young guy who spoke no English and was not wearing a mask. The next couple he was to pick up were not at the meeting spot he went to. After some phone calls, we picked them up at another location. Another couple and two young women were also picked up - we were running about 40 minutes late. Luckily, the six other people on the trip were all great- a couple of teachers from just outside Bristol, England, a couple from Paris, and two young women from London, who regaled us with tales of BoJo's disastrous response to Covid. The husband of the couple from Paris spoke a bit of Italian and sat up front with the driver.
Our first stop was Galatina, permanent population of around 28,000, where we had a 30 minute stop to visit the Basilica di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria. Between 1369 and 1391, Raimondello Orsini del Balzo commissioned the basilica and the adjoining convent (now a Museum). Inside the magnificent frescoes commissioned by Raimondello's widow, the Princess of Enghien, use biblical images to narrate life at court and stories of knights to celebrate the commissioning family.
 |
| Outside of the Basilica |
 |
| Amazing frescoes |
 |
| Every wall and ceiling covered |
 |
| Some of the colours still very rich- others faded |
 |
| View back to the door |
The convent next door was also covered in beautiful paintings.
 |
| Courtyard of the convent |
 |
| More frescoes |
 |
| Detail |
 |
| Knight and dog |
It was definitely worth a stop as we would not have visited otherwise.
We then continued to Gallipoli, which means "beautiful city". The old town centre sits on a tiny island connected to the mainland by a 17th century bridge. It is almost completely surrounded by defensive walls, built mainly in the 14th century. Gallipoli has a permanent population of around 21,000.
Our van stopped in a parking lot along the harbour. We walked in toward the old city. We had two hours in Gallipoli, which was about the right amount of time to explore and have some lunch.
 |
| Walking along the port |
 |
| Adriatic Sea and lots of boats |
We first stopped at the Castello di Gallipoli, which dates back to the 13th century, though largely rebuilt in the 1500s.
 |
| Approaching the Castle |
 |
| Entrance--- we did not do a tour of the Castle |
 |
The poster gives a picture of the castle in front of the old town and shows the sea wall
|
 |
| Looking back at the one very modern building and the newer part of town |
 |
| Mending nets |
We decided to walk around the sea wall of the entire old city. This was a wonderful way to keep by the water and get a perspective of the city.
 |
| Looking back at the castle |
 |
| Beautiful day- fabulous city |
 |
| Housing facing the water |
We passed a number of churches all facing the water.
 |
| Cloister of the Dominican Convent- 1517 |
 |
| Another church on the sea wall |
 |
| The Sea.... |
There is also a beach where a number of folks were swimming. It was quite warm out and one of the young British women on our tour told us later she had gone in for a dip.
 |
| The town beach |
 |
| Yet another seawall church |
It was then time for lunch once we had walked around the sea wall. One of our guidebooks had mentioned that there were a number of kiosks under the bridge leading to the castle that sold fresh seafood. They had been closed when we first arrived but by 12:15 were starting to open. We noticed a stand with lots of beautiful fresh seafood outside a tiny place to eat. This turned out to be one of our best lunches of the trip. We pointed at some seafood, and the staff took the fish inside to grill. We didn't even know the price, but went ahead anyway- another adventure.
 |
| Very fresh seafood |
 |
| Alonso asking me what we should get |
 |
View back into small restaurant- it filled up quickly after we sat down at a table in the front.
|
 |
| Our amazing plate of giant prawns and squid-- fabulous |
 |
| So tasty- grilled with excellent olive oil |
Bread with fabulous olive oil, a glass of white wine, bottle of sparkling water and the seafood - all for 30 euros! A real treat.
Next stop was one of our favourite pastry places in Puglia-- Martinucci (shops in Lecce and Alberobello). We had excellent coffees and pasticciotti at the bar as we needed to head back to the van. We had a new driver for the rest of the tour, a very nice older man, who did have a mask!
 |
| Alonso waiting for the coffee |
 |
| Make coffee not war! |
 |
| Getting ready to head back to the van |
Our next stop was the most southern city in Puglia- Santa Maria di Leuca, which has a permanent population of around 5300. We went to the look out at the Basilica di Santa Maria de Finibus Terraie. The Basilica was constructed between 1720 and 1755. There is also a lighthouse constructed in 1864, one of the tallest in Italy.
 |
| The Basilica in Piazza Giovanni XXIII |
There was a path down to the small beach area. A fabulous area for rock climbing, swimming and hiking.
 |
| Path to get down to the water |
 |
| Walking down to the pool |
 |
| A most beautiful spot-- this guy was a bit hesitant but he ultimately jumped in |
 |
| The water was very nice |
 |
| Alonso at the inlet |
 |
| We watched these two men jump into the inviting water |
 |
| A villa very near the swimming spot |
What a gorgeous spot!
The next stop on the tour was a town called Castro with a permanent population of around 2400. Our stop was the Castello Aragonese. It was reconstructed a number of times after being raided by the Turks. Since 2016, it has been home to an archeological museum.
 |
| Directions |
 |
| Castle |
 |
| Sea walk |
 |
| Near the entrance to the Museum |
 |
| Another view |
 |
| Vista to the Sea |
Our final stop was Otranto. We stopped for two hours and our driver said they we could stay there until 6:00 p.m. to make up for the 40 minutes we lost in the mix-up in pick up locations at the beginning of the trip. Otranto has a permanent population of around 5800. The City is best known for its 2010 UNESCO listed old town 'Centro storico' and medieval castle. It is located at Italy's easternmost point.
 |
| 16th century castle |
The Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata was constructed in 1088 and combines Byzaantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and baroque elements (that also have a touch of Greek) with those of Jewish and Islamic culture. It has a simple Romanesque facade with a Renaissance rose window and a rich baroque portal.
 |
| Outside of the Cathedral |
However, it the amazing mosaic floor dating back to 1166 that is the main attraction. It has over 600,000 tiles, with interesting representations of the months, Old Testament subjects and others.
 |
| The mosaics are incredible |
 |
| Ceiling |
 |
| Lots of tree of Life symbols |
 |
| The whole floor is mosaics |
 |
| Reference to Cain (spelled Cayn here) and Abel |
On the night of July 28, 1480, 20,000 Turkish soldier in league with the Venetian Republic, aboard 200 black-sales ships laid seige to the city. The inhabitants took refuge inside the walls, but their defence was useless and the 800 survivors, who refused to disavow their religion, were decapitated. The remains of the martyrs and the rock where the beheadings took place are conserved in one of the side chapels.
 |
| Very gruesome- heads |
There
 |
| The walls are quite extensive |
 |
| Gorgeous view of the Sea |
 |
| Very wide boardwalk by the Sea, looking back at the walls |
 |
| Palm trees and other well groomed trees |
 |
| The sandy beach |
 |
| View back at the walls |
 |
| Christmas train and other decorations near this part of the wall. |
We left Otranto at about 6:00 p.m. and were back in Lecce by 6:45 p.m. We had a brief rest and then went out for dinner at Blue Notte, a seafood restaurant that was recommended in a blog we follow. We had great seating on the patio. It was still warm out (around 20C), but there was an unobtrusive heater near our table. We decided to splurge on the seafood antipasti. The Pugliese are known for their amazing antipasti. We first got one dish with three types of fish that was delicious. We thought it was a bit sparse for 15 euros.....but a few minutes later our waitress brought out a second plate of seafood and then a minute later she brought out a third plate!! We were a bit overwhelmed.
 |
| Alonso with the first plate |
 |
First plate had delicious octopus, squid and a curry with shrimps
|
 |
Second plate with raw fish, mussels, smoked salmon on a crepe,
and a few items we weren't sure of, but they were good. |
 |
| Third plate had various fried fish in a light batter |
 |
| Antipasti galore |
We then got our pasta dishes--- Alonso had a pasta with cod and I had a mixed seafood pasta.
 |
| A rather large portion with cod and tomatoes |
 |
| Pasta with seafood-- large portion |
We were full. The antipasti was the highlight. The pasta with seafood that I had in Trani was still the best of the trip. We easily could have shared one serving had we known about the size of the antipasti.
We walked to the Porta San Biagio located at the end of the restaurant street. Lots of people out on a Saturday night.
 |
| Porta San Biagio |
 |
| Buzzy restaurant next to the Porta |
We headed back to the apartment. We are very glad we took the tour. We got to go to two towns we wanted to visit- Gallipoli and Otranto and then had the chance to stop at four others. Plus the ride along the coast was a treat in itself. Sunday we will take it easy. Due to an internet issue, I am posting this very early Monday morning.
Comments
Post a Comment