Day Trippers

From our base here in Monopoli, many of Puglia’s major towns are an easy day trip away. Bari, for example, is only about half an hour to the north. Puglia’s capital is a busy port city with a population of more than 700,000. We went to see the old city, Bari Vecchia, and found it, too, bustling with life.

Lecce is probably Puglia’s best-known and most-visited city. Lecce’s extraordinary Baroque architecture has led to it being referred to as ‘The Florence of the South’. (It’s a bit hard to find a city in Italy that doesn’t have a tag line).

And then there’s Ostuni (‘The White City’). Ostuni is small and pretty and, as it turns out, home to the fifth largest population of Brits in Italy. And when you consider the total population is around 32,000, that’s going to be a lot of British immigrants. Yet still they come … apparently in summer Ostuni’s population swells to more than 100,000. Yikes!

And in case you’re wondering, we weren’t day tripping in this little Fiat Bambino; our mode of transportation for these excursions was a (slightly) more modern regional train.

Bari

Bari's old city is a maze of narrow lanes; here a lot of life is lived on the street

Like these trays of orecchiette (the typical pasta of Puglia); you often see them set out in the street to dry

The women of the old city are well known for their pasta; as you wander along the streets, you can see them at work in their kitchens

They're skillful and incredibly fast - in a single second they cut off a tiny piece of dough, use their thumb to create the orecchietta shape, set it aside and are ready for the next one

We bought pasta and taralli from this lady (taralli are a snack - savoury or sweet - typical of the south)

This lovely lady and her mother called us inside for a chat; she talked to us, greeted passing neighbours and kept an ear on the TV - all without missing a beat in making her pasta

But Bari was about more than just pasta

There seemed to be a greengrocer on almost every corner

And the produce was beautifully fresh

This greengrocer was receiving plenty of good advice from one of his regular clients

Huge oyster mushrooms

And delicious mussels

Lecce

Lecce is a sophisticated and lovely city

Via Giuseppe Libertini leads to the heart of the historic centre

The Duomo, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, is considered a Baroque masterpiece

The church was built in 1144, underwent repairs in 1230 and was rebuilt in 1659

There are 12 side chapels in the cathedral

This one is the altar of Our Lady Queen of Peace

The Duomo is one of Lecce's 23 churches and the heart of the city's religious life

Buildings here were constructed using the local limestone, Lecce stone

Soft and workable, it was the perfect material to create ornate facades

Lecce isn't all Baroque beauty, the city's Roman history is evident in this amphitheatre right in the middle of town

Panetteria Valentina, creating deliciousness since 1947

Taralli made with local pecorino - who could resist?

And we had to sample these - zeppole - a local treat of fried dough topped with custard and chocolate (kind of like a custardy, chocolatey donut) ... oh my goodness!

Ostuni

Ostuni's main square, Piazza Sant'Oronzo, with the oblisk dedicated to the saint as thanks for protecting the city from the plague of 1657

The city's cathedral and 15th century rose window

Like Lecce's Duomo, Ostuni's cathedral is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

The church was built in 1229 and badly damaged in the earthquake of 1456

The Scoppa Arch; the original timber arch was replaced by this stone one in 1750

And Chiesa di Spirito Santo (1637)

This part of Puglia is known as Salento; the high British population in and around Ostuni has led to some dubbing this area as 'Salentoshire'