Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013 -- Lecce and Oria

Today dawned with clear blue skies and bright sun.  We set off with one destination in mind and soon had a change of heart and decided to head for Lecce, with a stop en route so that we could attend Easter Mass.  At the first church we tried, Mass was almost over, so we continued and it was our great good luck to wind up at Mass at Lecce’s beautiful duomo.  The ornate surroundings, excellent choir, and the presence of the local bishop all added to the glory of the Easter liturgy. 

A couple of cultural observations about our Easter experience:  In the almost two weeks since we arrived, we’ve been struck by the colorful shop window displays of all manner of Easter treats – special cakes,  pastries, candies and enormous chocolate eggs and bunnies.  But today, at both Masses we attended, the congregations were not decked out in the spring finery we traditionally see in the U. S.  Perhaps it was due to the fact that the weather has been cooler and grayer than usual here, but we were struck by the dark, nothing-special, attire.  It may, indeed, be preferable to Scottsdale’s Easter-Mass-as-fashion-show or little girls freezing in spring outfits during March in New York, but it was a bit of a surprise in the land of la bella figura.

 

 We spent most of the day exploring Lecce, a gorgeous Baroque confection.  The Centro Storico is made up of buildings constructed between the 16^th and 18^th centuries of the local golden sandstone and as such, it appears as a very harmonious whole.  Because the stone was soft, it was easy for sculptors to execute whatever fanciful decorative elements they could imagine and they really let loose in Lecce!  (After the carving was complete, the stone was hardened by treating it with a solution containing whole milk.) The resulting style even has its own name, barocco leccese, and wandering in its midst was a feast for the eyes.

Before returning to our home base in Martina Franca, we stopped in Oria, a small hilltop town topped with a castle and a cathedral.  We wandered around a bit before entrusting ourselves to our GPS and getting home in time to spend our happy hour chatting via Skype with family back in the U.S.   They were just beginning their Easter fun as ours was drawing to a close!

Our host, Tommaso, came to check on our well-being and we enjoyed a cup of espresso with him after dinner.  He invited us to visit his family’s farm, which we plan to do on Wednesday.