This warm and beautiful day was Pasquetta, or Little Easter, a fact that colored our experiences
throughout the day. Before we headed
out, we had a visit from Tommaso, bearing fresh eggs from the farm and more of
his mother’s homemade cheese; the generosity of our host family is remarkable!
Our first visit was to the small town of Galatina in an area
of the Salentine that retains significant traces of its Greek heritage. Once
there, with just a little bit of difficulty due to the national game of
disappearing street signs, we found the Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria,
the reason for our visit. The interior
of the 14th century church is covered with vibrant frescoes
depicting stories from the Old and New Testaments, as well as the lives of Mary
and St. Catherine. They were absolutely
glorious and well worth the hide-and-seek hunt to find them.
In Galatina and other small towns that we traveled through,
we noticed that virtually all the shops were closed. We’d heard that Pasquetta was a holiday in
this country, but we’d had no idea how wholeheartedly the Italians embrace
it. We soon learned that it’s the real deal.
If the small inland towns were buttoned up tight, at the
coast it was a different story. Traffic
began to slow as we reached Gallipoli, on the Ionian Sea; that’s the arch of
the Italian boot. The old town, with
winding lanes, a fishing fleet, and a castle, is on an island, reached by a
short causeway. We parked and joined the
throngs along the lungomare on this gorgeous day. Young families, couples, old folks, everybody
was out to enjoy views of the aquamarine sea from the promenade and the outdoor
cafes. One-way traffic snaked (and
crawled) along the perimeter of the island while the interior lanes were full
of day-trippers. We were surprised to
find the duomo open in the early afternoon as churches (and lots of other
things) in Italy generally close for several hours at midday; we wandered in
and found a holiday wedding in progress.
After driving along the Ionian coast, we crossed the tip of
the heel of the boot and headed north on the Adriatic coast, where sandy
beaches gave way to high cliffs and a rocky coast. The views were spectacular and the small
towns along the way were full of leisurely crowds strolling, partying,
picnicking, and just generally enjoying the holiday.
Our final destination, Otranto, was so clogged with cars and
pedestrians that we decided to escape and head home without exploring the port
and old town there.
As everything, everywhere still appeared to be shuttered, we
scrapped our plans to eat out tonight and decided to make use of our eggs,
cheese and fresh spinach to have a frittata at home.
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