Blogs from Lecce, Apulia, Italy, Europe - page 3

Breakfast of egg and toast and wonderful coffee on our balcony, watching our neighbor, nice lady, sweeping the alley below us. She waves but I don’t think we are communicating because she talks quickly to us but never says Bonjourno. We started the day with shopping at the hardware store. I needed some plate glass for a contact printer, clothes line, funnel, etc. On the way, we met a woman at the vegetable market who gave us some zucchini with flowers which we were admiring! At the store Martha found some great German paintbrushes, and I got most of my list. We bought our supplies, $11, and headed to the castle. I forgot the glass and had to return to the hardware store. I went a different way home and went by the mozzarella cheese factory ... read more

Underground “Trappeti” Olive oil is a fundamental element of Lecce’s material culture and is symbolically represented by the undergroung oil mills or “trappeti” that abound in the area. There are several reasons for their being subterranean - firstly ,the far lower labour costs, since digging an oil mill underground was far cheaper than building it abouve ground. Furthermore, it was by far the mostconvenient solutionfor rapid processing and storage , since the olives were unloaded directly into the cells below throught openings in the vault of the trappeto. There were other reasons too. Since olive oil solidifies at a temperature of 6° C, it must be extracted and left to settle in a warm environment at an even temperature varying between 18 and 20 degreess.The trappeti ,heated not only by large lamps that burned day and ... read more

The beaches and caves of Salento Between Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca , the Salento coast boasts some wonderful beaches at Marina di Marittima and Marina di Andrano , Tricase, Marina di Novaglie and the Ciolo .The sea is stunning here ,alongside beaches ,cliffs and some extraordinaire natural caves . On arriving at the extreme southern point of Apulia ,Santa Maria di Leuca , you can admire the impressione cave Grotta Treporte (where discoveries from the time of Neaderthal man have been made) , and the cave , Porcinara , Diavolo ,Fiume , Bambino and Giganti , in which the bones of ancient animals were found. Beautiful green sea in Santa Maria di Leuca. A natural cavity that you mustn’t miss can be seen in Porto Badisco , where the famous cave Grotta dei Cervi ... read more

SALENTO it's great to enjoy beautiful natural scenaries....all so quiet and relaxing. It's so enthrallig how nothing feels like home. Moving away from this place really uprooted me from my own earth. But even if London has always been my dream city, I couldn' t help but coming Home. The mild climate, our beautiful sandy beaches, our natural beauties. that's why I decided to write down a bit about this amazing land. There are many things to be seen. I live in a small town named Otranto or as it was called by the Greek Hydruntum. It has a huge castle on the sea, a beautiful cathedral with the biggest jigsaw in Europe and an amazing sea. There are 3 beautiful lake, the most interesting is "Red lake" with its red earth and green water. There ... read more