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Published: October 1st 2022
“
The whole world is a narrow bridge and the main thing is not to be afraid”- Rabbi Nachman of Breslov
We woke up to heavy rain and thunder this morning! Our laundry hanging on the line got a bit wet, and the rain kept coming, on and off. It would seem to clear up, but then a few minutes later it was pouring again. Ross went out to get us some delicious pastries for breakfast (a variety of croissants - cream, pistachio, and marmalade, yumm!).
We packed our umbrellas and rain jackets, and left the apartment at 10 am, but by that time it had cleared up and it turned out to be quite a nice day (mostly sunny and quite warm). We walked to the old town, first stopping at the cell phone place because our SIM cards weren’t working - they quickly sorted it out and they now work, yay! We then zipped to the tailor, but it was closed again - the woman in a nearby shop said she thought it would be open for sure later (we checked later and it was still closed so I’ve given up on it).
We met at 11
Chiesa di Sant’irene
We went inside yesterday am for our walking tour, which started with the Jewish museum. It was quite an interesting small museum, with an underground area where the ritual baths likely were located. There was a thriving Jewish community in Lecce by the 14th C, but in the 16th C the Jews were forced to either convert or be expelled. There was an art exhibit in one area of the museum called “The World is a Narrow Bridge”. This comes from a Hebrew language song by an orthodox rabbi, based on earlier teachings, along the lines of: “The whole world is a narrow bridge and the main thing is not to be afraid.” I quite liked this quote.
After the Jewish museum we were handed off to another guide, and we started with the Basilica di Santa Croce (we had seen the outside of it yesterday but today we also went inside). The exterior is a riot of Lecce Baroque, which (according to Lonely Planet) Marchese Grimaldi said made him think “a lunatic was having a nightmare”! It is pretty over the top. The interior is more conventionally Baroque, and is quite something. Not my personal taste as I prefer much more simple
interiors but it was beautiful in its Baroque way. It apparently qualifies as a basilica because it contains a relic (in this case a small bone of some saint). The basilica was built between the 16th and 17th C, on land previously occupied by the Jewish community, who were expelled from Lecce in 1510.
Most of the buildings in the old town were constructed between the 16th and 18th C, of a soft, white stone (Lecce stone), which mellows over time to a honey like colour. Our guide talked more about Lecce’s patron saint, Saint Oronzo. He was made patron saint after performing a few saintly deeds: in 1743 he saved the town from damage from a big earthquake, and he also saved the town from the plague. What a guy! He was later killed (beheaded) and he managed to walk for several kilometres carrying his head before he collapsed. That would have been something to see. Saint Irene (of the Chiesa di Sant’Irene) was originally the town’s patron saint, but some subsequent male church bigwig didn’t like the idea of a woman patron saint, so she was replaced by Oronzo. Our guide said that Oronzo is a very
popular name in Lecce, and if you call ”Oronzo” lots of men will probably answer. That reminded me of the popularity of the name “Mohammed” in Arab countries we’ve visited. Always lots of Mohammeds.
We walked through the old town, and ended up at the Duomo (the Cathedral), which was rebuilt in 1659 (on the site of a 12th C. cathedral). It is also Baroque, and the interior is somewhat similar to the Santa Croce basilica, although with more stained glass, and a lovely painted dome. We also saw the crypt, which was very interesting (from the 12th C, but with Baroque modifications from the 16th C.). Our walking tour ended at the Cathedral, and we popped into one the Duomo Piazza buildings to use the bathroom. I spotted a nice bracelet at a shop there (and Susan and Beth ended up getting the same one).
We walked back to the apartment where we had a delicious lunch of leftover pizza, cheese, olives and crackers, and a Peroni each. Thus fortified, we set off in Fabio (the fiat Ross and Beth rented) and headed off to the nearby town of Otranto (about a 45 min drive). The drive
down the autostrata wasn’t particularly scenic (so many of the olive groves have been decimated by a parasite), but the town of Otranto is just lovely. We found a parking spot near the old town, and wandered around the old town for a bit. Otranto has Norman towers and walls, and was the victim of a Turkish massacre in 1480. It also has a beautiful waterfront area (it is on the Adriatic coast). We found the Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata), which was built by the Normans in the 11th C. Its claim to fame is the huge 12th C. mosaic of a tree of life. I loved the mosaic, and also the remains of frescoes painted on the walls.
We checked out several shops, and found a little place for a “cafe leccese”, which was a very delicious iced espresso. We sat outside in very cute garden area behind the cafe and enjoyed our delicious coffees, then set off again. We wandered around some more, checked out a few more shops (I got a very nice t-shirt with a colourful cat print which was made by the shop owner Lucy). Most of the shops were open during
the afternoon, unlike in Lecce where they have very strange hours, closing for most of the afternoon. We walked along the waterfront for a while, before heading back to Fabio (it was amazing we found where we had parked relatively easily, considering the windy, hilly streets).
We returned Fabio to his parking spot at the apartment, then walked to the nearby grocery shop to pick up some groceries including ingredients for a mushroom pasta dish Susan was making for dinner, and some more Aperol, wine, and beer. Ross made us all Aperol spritzes while Susan and Beth got to work chopping, and soon we were enjoying delicious mushroom tagliatelle, accompanied with a bottle of Pinot Grigio. We had some of the chocolate we had bought in Split for dessert, and Ross and I worked on our respective blogs, before turning in.
Tomorrow we are planning on an earlier start, exploring some other towns, and maybe stopping on the coast for a dip in the Adriatic.
Ci domani!
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Valerie Brown
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You'll have to read 'The Castle of Ortranto" (if you haven't already) now that you've been there. Also - that pinot grigio is available all the time in the LCBO, funny that you guys should be having it in Italy!