LECCE AND MONOPOLI

LECCE

Our last tour was to Lecce and Monopoli.  Lecce's population is about 95,000.  It is a very historic city and there are several churches so the pictures you will see are all related to Lecce's history.  There was an entrance fee to go into the churches so we did not go in.  Even with a map at our disposal, we  could not get to all of the sites we wanted to.  There is just a maze of streets and when some of the streets are not shown on the maps, it becomes guesswork.  Needless to say, some of our guesses were wrong!

The Palazzo dei Celestini was built in the second half of the 17th century and is located next to the church in the following picture.

Basilica of Santa Croce built between the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Piazza Sant'Oronzo which is quite beautiful but the scene was marred by the restoration of the column supporting the statue of Sant'Oronzo, the patron of the city.

The arena of a Roman Amphitheatre is also located in the Piazza Sant'Oronzo.

The church of San Mateo built in the second half of the 17th century.

The remains of another Roman theatre.

This is the ceiling of the restaurant where we had lunch.

Many of the balconies had sculptured faces.  These are some of the cleanest ones.

This is one of three arches in the historical town.  This is Porta Napoli (Triumphal Arch) erected in 1548 in honor of Emperor Charles V.

An obelisk situated near to Porta Napoli.

Our farewell picture with our driver.  The missing 4th from our group took the picture.  Thanks, J.

MONOPOLI

On the way back from Lecce, we stopped at the small seaside town of Monopoli which is on the Adriatic.  It's a pretty little town which affords you the opportunity to walk around most of it by the seaside.

A typical street where cars are not allowed.

Piazza Garibaldi - the main plaza where we had very delicious ice cream.

An old castle on the seaside.

A view of some of the buildings from what seemed to be the fishing port.

Beside the old castle.

Strolling along the seaside.

Historic guns set up to guard the city in ancient times.

By stepping into the Adriatic, someone crosses another item off her bucket list.

A view from the other side of the sea.

And so ends what has been a very enjoyable, insightful and delightful vacation.  It was really nice for my good friend (and travelling partner) and I to spend time with friends from down under and share some laughter over good food.  A big 'Thank You' to my friend of over forty years, GM, who introduced me to the region of Puglia.  She was born in Bari and it was over dinner one evening a couple of years ago that she piqued my interest in Puglia.  Without her influence, I would have never been aware of some of the beauty on the east side of Italy.  I now see it as the Amalfi Coast of the east!

BARI VECCHIA

BARI VECCHIA

On Wednesday, we went to the old town of Bari (known in Italy as Bari Vecchia) and did some exploring on our own.  Thankfully, our driver, Roberto, had taken us there on Monday for a quick two hour tour and we were able to see some of the things the old town is famous for because when we went back on Wednesday, we couldn't find those things (like the ladies making Orecchiette pasta and the farmers' market) on our own.

The old town is bordered on one side by the Adriatic sea and is known for a very long promenade along the sea.  The architecture of some of the buildings is impressive.  There are pedestrian only streets with lots of high end stores and a myriad of restaurants.

San Nicola Basilica in the old town has a plaza (piazza) which is always bustling.

The ceiling of San Nicola Basilica is quite elaborate; this picture doesn't really do it justice.

One of the small avenues off the San Nicola plaza.  There are also lots of little shops and small restaurants on some of these avenues where tourists can help the economy.

Many of the balconies have beautiful flowering plants hanging from them.

One of the ladies making Orecchiette pasta.

Some of the different kinds of pasta they make.

The front of the Teatro Margherita which used to be a theatre until 1979.  It is now used as a museum.

The back of Teatro Margherita seen from the promenade.

Cruise ships dock in the port on the other side of that long, low building in the background. 

This is just a small portion of the promenade.  There are benches all along the promenade and close to the beach area, many groups come to exercise.

One of the more impressive buildings in the pedestrian only section.

Some of the smaller restaurants in a plaza section of the town.

These pictures are only a very small indication of how beautiful the old town is.  If you ever get to Bari, be sure to visit the old town.

POLIGNANO AND OSTUNI

POLIGNANO & OSTUNI

On Tuesday, we visited the seaside town of Polignano followed by a visit to Ostuni.  Unfortunately, it was raining in Polignano so we sought shelter in a coffee shop and had a Bailey's coffee with a pastry....very yummy....but this meant that our touring time was reduced.

Polignano is a small fishing town and is famous for the song 'Volare', (which we heard just about everywhere), cliff diving and ice cream.  Volare was written by Polignano's native son, Domenico Modugno.  For the past few years, the town has been hosting an annual cliff diving competition sponsored by Red Bull; it attracts about 40,000 visitors during this time.  The ice cream we can attest to as we had an ice cream cone which was very delicious.

POLIGNANO

We weren't sure where this water was coming from but we believe it was rain water coming through the grates.

Regardless of the origin of the water, it made its way under this bridge....

And ultimately into the Adriatic sea. 

A view of the buildings perched above the cliffs.

This is the statue of Domenico Modugno.  It was amazing to see Italian ladies in what seemed to be there 'senior plus' years, clambering atop this statue and posing the same way as Domenico's replica.  It was quite another story when they had to get down.  Some ladies weren't as adventurous.

OSTUNI & MASSERIA BRANCATI

The town of Ostuni has a population of about 32,000.  During the summer months, tourists can increase that population to as much as 100,000.  Ostuni is famous for producing high quality olive oil.  Our visit to Ostuni included a tour to an olive grove/olive oil production farm called Masseria Brancati.

The main square of Ostuni......

With Saint Orontius' column.

The 'Old Town' of Ostuni is built on top of a hill fortified by very old walls which are not high.  The Old Town is famous for its white walls.

These two pictures of the Old Town were taken from within the walls.

This picture of the newer part of Ostuni was also taken from within the walls of the Old Town.

This domed structure was quite interesting but unfortunately, I don't know what it is.

A view of the industrial area of Ostuni with the Adriatic Sea in the far distance.

MASSERIA BRANCATI

The information here relates to the production of olive oil as it was done centuries ago since the current production is done off site using stainless steel tanks with temperature controls.  We were disappointed to learn that we would not see the actual processing/production of olive oil.  Masseria Brancati is now in its 7th generation of producing high quality olive oil.  The ancient production methods took place in a cave because of the beneficial temperatures.  This is what our tour covered.

This was the first wheel used in the production of olive oil.  Picture this off the ground and pulled by donkeys.

This wheel was an improvement by the Greeks.  The olive oil was used for fuel in lamps.

This is an improvement by the Romans over the previous two when the Romans began to commercialize olive oil.

This was another Roman press and the olives were emptied into the press through holes above the press.

This was a storage room for the olives.

This is soap made by the owner's grandmother over eighty years ago.  It looks petrified but the inside is quite smooth and a bit oily.

This is a washboard used for washing clothes.  My late Mom used one of these before she got her first washing machine.

The entrance to Masseria Brancati.  That tree isn't actually growing out of the top of the entrance.

This is one of the very old trees in the grove.  It dates back to the days of the Romans.  While it is impossible to tell the actual age of the tree, carbon dating comes pretty close.  This tree still bears olives.  The trees have to be pruned and the farmers are allowed to remove the suckers (such as the one seen in this picture).

There are over sixty million olive trees in Italy.  By law, olive trees cannot be cut down.  There is a census done of olive trees and the tag on the left is part of that census.  The tag on the right has a chip embedded in it which allows the government to keep track of the tree; i.e. make sure it's not destroyed.

This is the oldest tree in the grove.  It is over 3,000 years old.  Even old trees need help staying upright......just like us.

These olives are growing on that oldest tree.

Oldies posing with the oldest tree.....makes us feel young.

At the side of the 'house', I found this gentle soul and her foal.  Nice way to end the tour.

There was an olive oil tasting at the end of the tour but it was nothing to write home about.  All in all, an overall good day!