ITALY #6 ~ DISCOVERING PUGLIA (THE END): LECCE AND OTRANTO CITIES

Today, the last leg of our discovery of Puglia, will include a visit to Lecce  that,  due to its prevailing Baroque architecture, is commonly nicknamed "The Florence of the South" and, after lunch, we will go to Otranto, the easternmost city in Italy. 
On our heading south, just one-minute stop to take a photo of.. 

Locorotondo city, now a historical centre, known for its circular structure, from which its name that means 'Round Place', derives.
We have a pretty long drive to reach Lecce. We'll start our city tour at the main square, the site of a Roman amphitheatre, half buried now below the modern city.

Lecce is completely unexpected and seems oddly out of place and the answer to it is the stone – a type of limestone that is soft enough to be worked easily with a chisel. This famed material allowed the builders of sixteenth century  to indulge themselves in their Baroque fantasies and so ornate is the masonry work that it is difficult to gauge where architecture ends and decoration begins...

After visiting the Cathedral (photo above), we are walking into the side streets of the Duomo Square and make our way to the Basilica di Santa Croce...

This is said to be the most beautiful church in the city and it may well have been... We can't go inside it. Visits are not allowed. The front is covered in scaffolding.

No problem, let's go ahead with our walk and look at so many fantasies all carved with great care. 

Shall we step into the atelier of an artisan of papier-mâché (a craft that is unique to Lecce) and watch him demonstrating his skill? 

Our discovery of Puglia ends with a visit to Otranto, whose story is best told in its amazing cathedral where the bones of 813 martyrs are displayed in a glass case behind the altar... Don't you find it a macabre reliquary? I do...

Perhaps you hadn't expected our discovery of Puglia to have had such a macabre end... it hasn't had it at all...if you give a look at the images of the slideshow you will see how different it has been... Rome, where we will arrive soon, is waiting for us...

I hope you have enjoyed the discovery of Puglia as much as I have... 
Can I expect you to follow me during my stay in Rome? I do hope so...

Thanks for the time spent with me and best wishes for a wonderful week...

~~ See you soon! ~~

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ITALY #4 ~ DISCOVERING PUGLIA ~ TARANTO

Today, let's do something different. I mean, spend the whole day in the city of Taranto that sits right on Ionian Sea coast. Because of its situation, it's an important commercial port and it also serves as the main Italian naval base. We are on a lucky day. Without having got a prior information, we notice an unusual movement in the city: the farewell of an Italian battle ship to its 30-year life of activity, which implies the extraordinary opening of the swing bridge.

Entering Taranto under the swing bridge, the only bridge in Italy that pivots other than rises.

Steel and iron foundries, oil refineries and chemical works also play an important role in the economy and landscape of the port city. Europe's biggest steel mill that is the major employer in Taranto is often blamed for the unusually high rate of cancer in the area.

The XV century defence castle that overlooks the sea is nowadays the office of the Navy.

Right opposite the castle, two well-preserved Doric columns, remains of a Greek temple, remind us Taranto’s past as a Greek colony.

Taranto is divided into the 'new town' and the 'old town'.

The old town centre is a maze of narrow alleyways, many of which only allow access in single file.  Images such as the ones we see below, showing crumbling buildings, graffiti are a bit shocking, aren't they? Don't you think the old city looks like the apocalypse after a war? Don't you feel sorry for the people who live there?

Let's walk along the seafront promenade and give a look at the stone mermaids on the breakwaters... I don't hear any of them singing, do you? If they are not singing, perhaps they are waiting for Triton, the messenger of the sea...

If you feel like having a look at he slideshow, you will realize how the time spent in Taranto that is also called the capital of Magna Grecia, was worth the day, not to mention the delicious local specialities we had for lunch...

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ITALY #3 ~ DISCOVERING PUGLIA ~ GROTTAGLIE (THE CITY OF THE CERAMICS) AND THE PIANELLE NATURAL RESERVE

I'm very fond of clay-related goods, therefore I could not miss a visit to Grottaglie that, since the Middle Age, has been known for the production of Italian pottery and especially for its functional ceramics: large jars, pitchers, urns and pots to carry or store water, wine, oil, vinegar and food supplies. 

Over the centuries, the ceramics have evolved and ornamental objects, like holy water fonts and Pumi (photo below), have been adding to the fame of Grottaglie pottery.

Different Pumi adorning the roof of a craftsman's atelier

Yes, the Pumi! I was very much intrigued by the rounded ceramic objects that adorned the balconies and the terraces of the houses. I noticed that they were invariably placed in pairs at both ends of every balcony, no matter if the house was old and shabby or newly restored, simply built or richly adorned.

I learned from a craftsman that a pumo was a popular symbol of good luck in Grottaglie and more in general in the region of Puglia. Every family celebration and important event was sanctified by the gift of a ceramic pumo, rigorously handmade. They were on sale in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours. I brought home a small one that I placed in my living room as a decorative accent piece ... We all need good luck, don't we?

I was interested in walking in a wood. Before leaving Lisbon and when I was searching every detail about Puglia, I learned that there was a nature reserve not far from my 'headquarter'. So, one day I walked for several hours in it, always guided by a friendly dog that at the end seemed to be more tired than me.

The area was good to walk around, and the various trails were clearly marked, so there was no risk of being lost. For a while, I had the feel I was in Portugal as I saw a strawberry tree, the fruit of which we use to make a sort of brandy. Perhaps I was not on a lucky day... I had no idea where the birds were hidden, probably playing attending a summit meeting... I presume the end of Summer had brought the low season to the Reserve...

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A HISTORIC BELVEDERE OVER A FERTILE WETLAND...

Last week, I got on a train that, rolling through vast and green plains stretching to the horizon - often flooded by the river Tagus -, took me to the city of Santarém.  

From the popular Jardim das Portas do Sol (The Sun Gate Park) – that is encircled by the city’s medieval walls, I could afford magnificent views of the district’s plains and river.

The city is home to several churches, most of them of Gothic style, which makes Portuguese people call it the capital city of Gothic style in Portugal.

The photo below pictures the so-called  Torre das Cabaças (Bottle Gourds Tower). Its name has to do with the eight calabashes (now replaced by ceramic pots) at the top of the tower used to make the sound of the bell louder and be heard  in the villages nearby. For a long time, popular opinion has considered them to represent the empty heads of the councillors who had been responsible for ordering the construction of such a crude, clumsy-looking tower...

Some of you who know me for many years already, won't be surprised with the collage below. I love markets: colourful places with a variety of produces, with nice blends of scents, making them be something like an edible and perfumed patchwork...

I wouldn't tell a lie if I said that I hadn't seen many foreign tourists but Portuguese, only. If I had counted the former, the fingers of one of my hands would have been sufficient...

Hope you give me the pleasure of being guided by me through the city...

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INLAND PORTUGAL #4 AND LAST - AROUCA GEOPARK, SCHIST HAMLET, PAIVA PATHWAY

With half of its area classified by the Natura 2000 Network, the whole Arouca Geopark is a place of choice for nature tourism, with river beaches and traditional villages that are worth exploring. So, I did it as much as I could. 
Most of the time, I felt as if I were diving into the Past while living the Present days. I saw the enigmatic rock delivering stones, I wondered through the Paradinha typical hamlet and its surrounding area where local materials were used for the buildings, I had moments of relaxation when I accepted the invitation from the river beach, not to mention a short stay at Arouca town where I had the opportunity to enjoy its typical U-shaped sweet morcels.   

Geopark - The only chapel I saw - Baroque-style, XVII century

 Paradinha, born in the mountain and leaning against it. The Paiva river and the natural mountain landscape creates a special framework to this hamlet with its small farming terraced fields and its beach.

Arouca - Main square and typical sweet morsels (you will require a bowl filled with boiling water in which to place the morsels for a few minutes. Then, they are ready to be enjoyed).

And now, the last but not the least reference: Paiva boardwalk around the mountain, inaugurated last July. The entire 8.0 km (4.9 miles) walkway with its zig zag of steps leading up to the top of the hill,  enables visitors to enjoy parts of the countryside that were only previously accessible by boat.

I had wonderful days of walking, of photography, of time offline and of trail after trail, town after town, river after river, trees after trees,  the Past and the Present living together ...

I can't help but putting an end to this set of posts by quoting the British academic and travel writer Robert Macfarlane...

For some time now it has seemed to me that the two questions we should ask of any strong landscape are these: firstly, what do I know when I am in this place that I can know nowhere else? And then, vainly, what does this place know of me that I cannot know of myself?

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INLAND PORTUGAL #3 ~ VOUGA ECOTRAIL, PARADELA

Although the weather was not at its best, I really enjoyed my walk along the Vouga Ecotrail that follows to the north always parallel to the river Vouga and to a roadway. The starting point is marked by a tiny chapel. This, as told me by the man you see not very clearly, had been erected at his own expense... the fulfilment of a promise!!! 

Despite my fear of heights, looking down the road didn't cause me any vertigo. All the way, I felt very safe as the trail was very wide and the pavement was good even for all those who like biking or are fond of skating...

It passed through tunnels and a monumental bridge that is a symbol of the region. In terms of geology, the prevailing stone was schist.

Reaching the former railway station of Paradela - at which trains don't stop anymore - nowadays turned into a tea-room, and enjoy a small tart filled with custard and berries, was like a balm after my physical effort.

 The valley of the Vouga river provides nice landscapes. Furthermore, the fertile soil enables the growing of fruit trees and the cultivation of myrtus bushes. 

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~~ HAVE A NICE DAY ~~