Puglia vacation - Day 5: Lecce (and Corliglino d'Otranto

WE LOVE LECCE! What an absolutely beautiful town. It’s the only town with Baroque and Rococo architecture in all of Southern Italy (affectionately referred to as Barococo Leccese) But there’s more. Just after we parked the car and strolled into the centro storico, we stumbled across a piazza where a Roman amphitheater from the 1st or 2nd century had been excavated. This square was also lined with caffes, bars and upscale shops like Cartier and Bulgari.

We continued to walk through the historic part of town. The Piazza del Duomo was spectacular. Too bad the Campanile (bell tower) was in the midst of restoration; without the scaffolding, the Piazza would have been all the more majestic. Most of the cathedrals, churches and other buildings of the “Leccese” style were from the 16^th and 17^th century, including those in the Piazza del Duomo. It appeared that much of Lecce had been recently restored, that the town was wealthy –especially by Southern Italian standards, and that the people were interesting – not provincial by any means.

Many locals were riding bikes through town. There were several book stores (one where I spotted a flier for yoga), and unique shops like one with goods from India, and another with Arabic items. The whole place had a great vibe.

We had a great lunch with some unique dishes like pureed fava beans with chicory. The orecchiete with broccoli and sausage was very flavorful, and the polpette (meatballs) had a wonderful tomato sauce. Next door to the restaurant was a gelateria where Olivia and Avery enjoyed their first gelato of the trip. Charlotte, with her sore throat, instead chose a hot chocolate but of the pudding variety. It was so thick and chocolately, unlike anything we’ve tasted. WE LOVE LECCE!

As we drove out of town, we thought this would be the perfect place to retire (but wait, we ARE retired..,). Lecce is such a beautiful town with a lot to offer culturally, and just a short drive from the sea. When Josh asked the proprietor of the restaurant which beach he likes, he replied “it depends on the wind.” If the Scirocco is blowing he goes to the Adriatic, if the Tramonto is blowing he goes to the Med. It’s always nice to have options.

It was only a 20 minute drive and we arrived at Masseria Sant’ Angelo. We were deep in the country now at a real farm where we’d be spending the next two nights. Unlike Boezio (which was more an upscale, chic Masseria) Sant’ Angelo was a real working farm. The kids were happy to see three (new) dogs, several cats, three horses, two donkeys, chickens and a herd of goats! Goats the kids could milk tomorrow morning before breakfast. Our host gave us a tour of the property including an open-air “museum” where he’d relocated and recreated items important to farmers and indigenous peoples centuries ago.

Our accommodations are rustic, but clean. The property is full of stone cabins or “casetas.” Ours is a two bedroom with a kitchen and a porch.

We drove literally around the corner (how could we be on a farm just around the corner from town?) to Corigliano d’Otranto to find a place to have dinner. The place we found, Antichirio, was once an old olive mill and had a great ambiance, an antipasto buffet, a wood burning pizza oven, and an indoor barbeque for grilling meats. A great find. After dinner, we ducked around the corner to the Piazza and what did we find? A castle! Castello de’ Monti was originally built in 1480 but has just recently been renovated. It had a moat, a bridge, and the door was OPEN. Once inside there was first a courtyard, and then a large ballroom (?) with coffered stone ceiling where there was an art exhibition. Upstairs, there was a bar. This was the coolest contemporary-use castle ever.

Who has ever heard of Corigliano d’Otranto? It’s certainly not on the tourist track. Yet it’s a fantastically charming town; and that’s the beauty of traveling throughout Italy – you run into one amazing place after another. The country has so much history, it’s not difficult to uncover some.