Nicola, or simply, Nic, was my effervescent driver and guide for a day trip from Polignano across southern Puglia in June 2018 and, as well as being fun, he was informative and good company. The idea was to head to two famous towns, both beautiful and also, in their own ways, unique. Everyone I met in Puglia said they were both must-see places, Alberobello and Matera. They weren’t wrong.

Before we got to the first destination, we stopped off near the town of Monopoli to get a view of this distinctive area of southern Italy, where the hills make way for a flat plain that heads back to the Adriatic Sea.

This is area is obviously dedicated to cultivating productive trees, in appealingly orderly orchards, orderliness is the Pugliese way. I assumed, wrongly, that the trees were olives.

Walking up the hill, on a moodily cloudy day, I was drawn to the prominent Calvary-inspired hill-top crucifix. Italy, at almost every turn as a habit of looking like a shot from a film.

Up close now, I could see that these were not olive trees, the branches were laden with what looked like runner beans. Bean trees, I thought, only grew in fairy tales. These are not beans, but carobs, the name coming from the Arabic, kharrūb, Locust Bean Pod. The Carob tree, or Locust Tree (Ceratonia siliqua) is part of the legume family. The seed pods are edible and are cultivated, mostly, in Portugal, Morocco and southern Italy. They are dried and used as a sweet culinary powder, best known as a chocolate substitute, or as animal fodder.

Alberobello – the beautiful tax-avoiding hobbit village.

Alberobello is unique, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its extraordinarily cute houses, known as trulli. The place is officially known as one of i borghi più belli d’Italia, (one of the most beautiful villages of Italy).

The little houses were first built in the early sixteenth century and the style has a highly practical basis – tax avoidance. In those days of cynical feudalism, the land around here was owned by Count Giangirolamo II (1600 – 1665), who only allowed around forty peasant families to settle here and cultivate the land. They had to pay their lord with a tenth of their crops. When there was a need to expand the number of houses, after the establishment of an inn, the Count decided that they could be built only if they were constructed without the use of mortar, so that he could avoid paying taxes to the Spanish viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples who was pacified by the thought that they were only temporary dwellings that could be easily dismantled. The easiest way of building houses with dry stone walls was to make them circular and small. The result is, of course, really cute but they have also proven to be anything but temporary in the four hundred years of Alberobello’s existence.

The little trulli houses are still very habitable and comfortable as I saw when I visited this hospitable Alberobello resident’s home to look round.

There were trulli here and trulli there and there was even a trullo church.

Simple and unpretentious, it was built in 1927 in a simple style that blends in perfectly with the over-all plan. If hobbits went to church, I suspect they would have gone somewhere just like this.

Alberobello deserves its reputation as one of Puglia’s must-see locations – I enjoyed my chance to wander round its little winding streets and to catch the many charming views of little conical roofs nestling together on the hillside. Hobbits would be save here, it seems. I felt safe too and I took the opportunity to practise my tai-chi and to earth my energy in a unique setting.

Matera – three thousand years of continual occupation

After Hobbit-town, we crossed the border between Puglia and Basilicata to visit the astonishing town of Matera which is considered one of the oldest sites of continual occupation in the world. People have lived here, in the town’s extraordinary cave dwellings, carved out of the rock since the 10th millennium BC. Some of these cave dwellings, known as Sassi, are still lived in today.

On my trip to Matera, I didn’t make it to the sassi caves, but I had time enough to walk up the precipitous lanes through the medieval city where houses cling to the rock-face in a similar way to the ancient sassi. It’s a matter of perseverance for anyone climbing up through the different levels and stopping, often, to take in the increasingly distant townscape views from each level. I felt like I was ascending an out-of service escalator, to the hill top where the grandest views awaited anyone fit enough for the climb.

Half-way there, I came across this man, a Matera resident, he’d retired here from the big city, and was restoring his walls in the time honoured way – as he was happy to demonstrate. Using traditional materials is a requirement in this World Heritage Site which the following year was to be named a 2019 European Capital of Culture.

On I went, upwards and upwards, then up even more steps, in streets where every space is used and every corner has its surprises.

I was heading for Matera Cathedral (built between 1268 – 1270) up there at the top of the hill.

I made it to the summit, and, looking down, I was amazed by how far I had climbed. I was pleased too to arrive at Matera Cathedral, a handsome 12th century building with elegant romanesque external decorations.

If the cathedral was impressive, especially the rose window in the west front, the views of surroundings wa even more interesting with the ancient sassi caves and the rolling Basilicata landscape making the trip worth it.

The cathedral interior was certainly a dramatic and possibly a jarring contrast to its exterior. To my eye, the original Romanesque architecture has been spoiled by the lashings of gold from the 18th century’s gaudy redecoration.

I prefer the little cave dwellings that I could glimpse from outside the cathedral. What must those sassi dwellers have thought if they ever came up here to see the cathedral all dressed up in its pomp and swank.

As with all long climbs up, I was now faced with the great climb down and the journey back to Polignano. When we finally arrived at the apartment I was happy to see the lift waiting to take me upstairs for a well-earned siesta.

The post On the road from Polignano to Matera, via Alberobello appeared first on Wolfie Wolfgang.

I was based in Polignano in Puglia, South East Italy, for two weeks in June 2018, see previous blog, and, from there, I could travel to a number of other interesting Pugliese town and cities.

Lecce – Baroque or not.

on a particularly hot day, I travelled to the city of Lecce, famous for its Baroque architecture txtravagantly cared out of the local limestone, Lecce stone, which is very soft and highly workable – especially in the hands of Lo Zingarello (Tiny Gypsy), the architect and sculptor Giuseppe Zimbalo (1620 – 1710), who undertook much of the restoration work in the new Baroque style when working on many of the earlier buildings of this beautiful city. I had come to see the celebrate Baroque cathedral, the Basilica of Santa Croce, before I got there I was distracted by a poster for an exhibition about one of my operatic heroes, the early 20th century Lecce tenor, Tito Schipa (1888 – 1965) – one of the greatest of all lyric tenors, in my less than humble opinion.

The exhibition was fascinating to anyone like me who has always loved this man’s exceptionally beautiful voice and his highly musical and never vulgar style. The exhibition was also thrilling for anyone who is, let’s face it, a bit of an opera geek. Here were recordings, photographs and costumes from one of the truly golden ages of opera. People don’t remember Tito Schipa was much as he deserves, so it was wonderful to see this tribute here in his home town. They really don’t make tenors like this any more.

With Tito Schipa’s voice ringing in my head, I made my way down the streets of this lovely city known as the Florence of the South, and soon found the Basilica di Santa Croce with its sensational display of Baroque sculpture. Tito Schipa’s elegance and taste might have turned me into a puritan, but I was impressed but not overwhelmed by the extravagance of Lecce’s Baroque. Wasn’t it just a bit too much, a bit over the top? Maybe. Or maybe it was just too hot that day to take it Giuseppe Zimballo’s extrovert mannerisms. Forgive me.

The interior was certainly extraordinary, but here too I kept think of graffiti and wondered what the place would look like if the baroque additions were stripped away. I had my answer when I went down some Romanesque steps into the very not Baroque crypt. Ah yes, this was more to my taste.

Barletta – a city of understated magnificence

After the Baroque fantasies of Lecce, I was happy to visit the more solid attractions of another Puglia city, Barletta. I might not have even come here, but I have a friend who lives here. I’d been having Italian lessons on-line on Skype with Enzo who had become more than an excellent teacher, he had become a friend. He lives in Barletta and, when he knew I was visiting Puglia, he was more than happy to drive me round some places of interest. We met at Barletta station where I also met his friend Ruggiero, who has to become another on-line friend when we met up to practise his English and my Italian. They had thought through a precise itinerary for today, so, as they are both teachers, I let me tell me what we should do. We didn’t have enough time to see all of the attractions of Barletta, but I did manage to visit the magnificently brutalist 12th Gothic basilica. – in front of which stand the so-called Barletta Colossus, an 5th century or maybe early 6th century bronze Roman statue with, I assume, a later addition of the hand held cross that is a tactful blend of the pagan with the Christian.

We were on our way to lunch.

We found the fish restaurant, Enzo’s favourite, and a spirited discussion ensued over the menu, while Enzo and Ruggiero debated what was the perfect meal for a Barletta new-comer. Unsurprisingly, the meal was superb.

and he crab was delicioso.

Trani with its ice-cream and its cathedral by the sea

After Barletta, Enzo drove us to Trani, another of his favourite places, especially for a regular Sunday stroll. It has, he told me with Ruggiero’s enthusiastic agreement, the best ice-cream bar in the region. Where else should we go after our Barletta lunch, but here for ice-cream and espresso. So we sat outside watching the boats in the little harbour before taking a leisurely walk round the town on way to the cathedral.

The luminous seaside 12th century Trani cathedral of San Nicola Pellegrino (Saint Nicholas the Pilgrim) is unusual for a number of reasons. First of all it gleams with an almost pink colour due to its construction from the local calcareous tuff stone, Puglia’s distinctive Tufa Stone, that was quarried locally. It is also one of very few cathedrals worldwide to be built so close to the sea.

Trani is also unusual for being built, (between 1099 – 1143) on several levels, with its main floor being raised high above sea-level, on the site of an older church (Santa Maria della Scala). It is also notable for the unusual gateway beneath its 13th century bell tower.

The cathedral’s arched transept is one of the masterpieces of Italian Romanesque architecture – made all the more beautiful by the bright sea-light shining through the high altar window and reflected onto its bright tufa stone.

A fifteenth century mural in the 12th Century crypt beneath the main cathedral. Virgin and Child with Saint James and Saint Anthony attributed to Giovanni di Francia (1420 -1467). The Virgin Mary is crowned queen of Heaven and she raises a veil, presumably, to reveal the sleeping baby Jesus, who lies on her lap where the painting is now irreparably damaged.

Beneath the main cathedral is the highly atmospheric 12th century crypt dedicated to San Nicola Pellegrino, the young Greek shepherd boy turned pilgrim, the apparently highly charismatic patron saint of Trani, who was buried here within his custom-made crypt just four years of his death, aged nineteen, in 1094. He was canonised at the same time as the cathedral was dedicated to him.

My thanks to Enzo and Ruggiero for an unforgettable day.

The post Some other towns on my journey through Puglia in Southern Italy appeared first on Wolfie Wolfgang.

I take too many photographs, I know. I have too many of them on my computer these days too and, during the last ten years, I have fallen behind in publishing the photographs I have taken on my foreign travels during what has been for me quite a turbulent time.

I have finally got round to sorting them out and here, today, is the first of a new series about the places I have visited and what I saw there.

In June 2018, I spent a couple of weeks in the lively little town of Polignano a Mare, in south east Italy, which as the label says is a mare, by the sea. I had rented a lovely modernist apartment with a terrace over-looking, the Adriatic ocean, the rocks, the remains of a thousand year old wall system and, it seemed, the world.

It was tempting just to stay at home here in this roomy and elegant apartment and just send out for a Dominos pizza. Well, maybe not Dominos.

Food is important in Italy and even a simple plate of tomatoes, olives and sausage, salsiccia, from the local market, tasted and looked like a banquet.

There was, of course, the need to find a space for my daily martial arts training, White Crane kung-fu and tai-chi. It is not just my way of trying to keep fit, but it’s also the way of laying claim to a small piece of the world, everywhere I go. Earthing my energy in the ancient Chinese way, has allowed me to put down just a few roots in many places home and abroad. For a time, everywhere I do my practice, I feel I am at home.

Polignano is a cliff-top town – some of the cliffs are rock and other cliff-like spaces are human habitations – seabirds don’t see the difference and the Italians might not either.

Below the apartment there are historic remains of the old town with walls and arches to remind us that Italian and Greco-Roman culture has been around for a long time. This part of Italy was one of the earliest ancient Greek colonies and its legacy is still around today.

Beyond the ruins, is the town itself, bustling, relaxed, in love with the sea, but also with shopping, eating and drinking. Polignano, to me, seemed like a place where fun is top of the agenda. Oh yes, it is beautiful too.

Italy is good at old town centres where shops, restaurants and bars thrive in even the narrowest of alleys and where old buildings wear their history with a nonchalance that says no big deal, just relax here.

And, naturally, all roads lead to the sea.

I arrived here, purely by accident, on the feast day of Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dancers and entertainers – a showbiz kinda saint – who also happens to be the patron saint of Polignano, also a showbiz kinda town. Before I had even unpacked, I was thrown into the middle of the celebrations and even got to see the rather boyish Saint Vitus himself as he was processed with religious ceremony through the street to cheers and applause before the local population carried on with the dancing and singing into the early hours of the morning. Legend has it, as they say, that if you dance in front of a statue of St Vitus he might just possibly heal you from diseases like cholera. Dancing makes you feel good anyway.

There were, I guess, more than a few hangovers on Polignano’s beach the next day. The beach, rocky and surrounded on three sides by cliffs, is a special place, even if it’s not ideal if you want to be alone. Why would anyone want to be unsociable in Polignano? It’s not the local style.

It is less crowded if you get down there early enough and before the sun disperses the early morning shadows. Then it is possible to imagine this ancient landing place for wandering Greeks, sailors, smugglers and, most likely, fishermen. The cliffs have earned the place a more modern celebrity. It is a centre of the annual international rock diving competition.

I was brave enough to stand up there and admire the view, but if I was forced to dive from up there into the sea, I think I would be dead on arrival.

When the diving if over, the clifftop scenery draws romantics and dreamers. I just stood and watched the play of light on on the Adriatic and held on tight to the railings.

There are numerous little coves along the coast here and those in the know can find less precipitous bathing spots. Cala Fetente is one of the best and least crowded beaches in these parts.

There was a good place to take holiday photos by the carpark and I’m sure the result of this shot looked like this family was on a paradise island.

I mentioned St Vitus being the patron saint of dancers and entertainers, and, sure enough, Polignano was the birthplace of one of Italy’s most popular singers, Domenico Modugno (1928 – 1994). He is commemorated in Polignano with this most showbiz of statues. Nevermind St Vitus, I wanted to dance round this exuberant image.

Here he is singing his most famous song, and, be warned, if you listen to it, you will be humming his signature song for the rest of the day. Nel blue, dipinto di blu, is better known as Volare, and you will know it, even if you didn’t realize that you’ve ever heard it.

Humming Volare, or trying not to hum it, you can just wander round this most sociable of towns, admiring the architecture and, yes, the sense of being in the kind of place that you had always imagined as Italy.

You don’t have to talk to people, of course, but, if like me, you are tying to speak Italian, it is really easy to make friends in the shops, restaurants and bars.

I still have a beautiful ceramic bowl made by this surprisingly shy woman who was, at first, a reluctant model. She is a true artist.

Elsewhere, I indulged my temptations, and lingered in the streets that call out for you to stop as you pass, or try to pass, each bar.

The reataurants were, as you’d expect, excellent here, but the most famous, and most spectacular, is the Grotta Palazzese, which is quite literally set in a grotto where you can sit almost in the sea, under the rocky ceiling, and marvel at the ingenuity of the person who thought let’s make a restaurant here. Yes, you can watch the sunset over the Adriatic and it is worth the booking just for the location.

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