Italy (Puglia): Roman Olive Groves and Farewell

The variety of olive trees that grow in Puglia are immortal.  At least in human terms.  Trees that stand in perfect rows thirty meters apart were planted by the ancient Romans.  Many of the trees at the olive oil producer that we visited today are well over 2,000 years old and still bearing fruit.  Part of how they've lasted for so long is that the Romans knew that 30 meters is the appropriate spacing in order for the trees to avoid competing with each other for nutrients.  Additionally, since the older trees have widespread and deep roots they can tolerate drought better than younger ones.  Modern oil producers in Spain have become known for getting away with much closer plantings because of irrigation techniques and fertilizers.  Ironically, as I'm writing this blog post Spain happens to be in the middle of a drought and it's driving up olive oil prices worldwide.

Masseria Brancati is one of few farms that have worked to preserve the history of oil production so that visitors can learn about what life used to be at the fortified farms that used to exist all over Puglia.  Olive oil was extremely valuable because it was used as fuel for lamps.  If you were an olive oil producer your farm, workers, and product had to be fiercely protected.  Large stone walls with small holes for weaponry were all that stood between raiders and the workers who already lived in appalling conditions for the sake of maximizing oil output (sounds strangely familiar).

Today Puglia is responsible for 40% of Italy's olive oil production.  At the end of our tour this morning we had an opportunity to do an olive oil tasting (always a fun experience).  My favorite was the cleaner grassier oil and Hans liked the one that had more spicy elements.

This particular tree is over 3,000 years old

1800's era millstones, driven by horses or donkeys

Since we were only ten minutes from the nearest beach we headed over to Lido Onda Blu, a quiet family-friendly beach club with very reasonable prices.  The wind coming in from the Adriatic was not as strong as it had been for the previous two days however the waves made swimming a little bit challenging.  The sand was nice and not too crowded.  We rented just an umbrella for a little bit of relief from the sun and skipped the loungers.  After rinsing off and changing out of our bathing suits I had an espresso and Hans had a lemon soda before we hit the road.

Sadly, this is our last full day in Italy.  Knowing how much packing there was to do, we went back to the hotel to start that task and make tomorrow a little easier.  We opted for take-out pizza from the tiny town of Casalini and ate at one of the outdoor seating areas back at our hotel.  It was a very beautiful evening under a clear sky full of stars and the very fragrant shrubs near us were buzzing with hawk moths, an exciting sight.

 

Italy (Puglia): Alberobello, Locorotondo, and Ostuni

 

Refreshed by a very nice breakfast, we drove to the postcard-picturesque town of Alberobello.  If you do an internet search for Puglia most likely you'll come across photos of the unique conical-roofed structures that can be found all over, with the highest concentration making up part of Alberobello.  There are many theories as to why these buildings were originally constructed.  Traditionally the walls are made without mortar.  Add a simple round roof and these little houses can be easily demolished.  Apparently these features were a means to take advantage of tax loopholes during the sixteenth century.

Now the clusters of Trulli (plural of Trullo) are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are mostly used as tourist gift shops and guest houses.  Most of the population of Alberobello live in more modern buildings however some are still private residences.

Hans and I parked on the other side of town this morning and began our walk in a lesser-known neighborhood so that we could enjoy the streets without crowds.  We knew we were getting close to the main tourist center when we saw a line of parking lots and a growing stream of visitors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we'd had enough of Italy's version of Hobbit houses we made our way over to the very lovely hilltop village of Locorotondo.  We had lunch at a wine bar with views overlooking a valley and vineyards.  I had not done a lot of research on Locorotondo but I read that it was worth visiting.  On our way to find a shop and tasting room for winery I Pastini we accidentally discovered that the central historic district is absolutely beautiful.  We did some shop browsing here and sat in shaded park for a little bit of people watching.

 

 While I was taking pictures of Locorotondo I kept accidentally following the two girls on the left, who were having a grand time taking pictures of each other posing with store displays and seemingly every flower pot or decorative bicycle. 
Eventually they asked me to take a photo of the two of them in front of a ceramics store.

 

 We had dinner reservations elsewhere so we went back to the masseria hotel and I enjoyed the pool for a few hours.

 

 Sure, I'll enjoy my book while the nice man at the bar keeps bringing me Aperol spritz

When the sun began to set it was time to drive over to the "citta bianca" of Ostuni.  Most of Puglia is on pretty flat land so the mountain setting of Ostuni is particularly dramatic.  The surrounding countryside is full of ancient olive groves, leading nearly all of the way to the Adriatic Sea.

We first walked to a recommended viewpoint and it did not disappoint.  When we got to the old town it was easy to be turned around by the very winding streets.  On our stroll to the restaurant we missed the alleyway behind the cathedral at the top of the mountain and ended up walking down, down, down, nearly to the bottom of the other side.  Ha!  In the end it wasn't too horrible that we had to hike all of the way back up because we came across some very interesting streets.   Aperitivo hour began and restaurants started to set up precarious chairs (a lot of them beanbag chairs so that you didn't have to risk furniture or patrons accidentally tipping over on the steep sidewalks).  We ended up at what seemed to be a popular gathering spot for pre-dinner visitors.  The weather of course was spectacular and everyone seemed to be in a jolly mood.

 

 

 

Our meal at Osteria Piazzetta Cattedrale was outstanding.  We opted for one of their many tasting menus.  Not only was the food delicious but the presentation was impressive.  I think what blew me away was the fact that this restaurant has something like seven unique tasting menus to choose from and yet the execution is so solid.  Our theory is that it's because the restaurant has only six tables.  Our server spent half of his time turning away people who were hoping to get a table without a reservation.  Non prenotazione, non tavolo.

When I asked for a wine recommendation our server didn't even show us the wine list.  He asked for our price range and then presented us with a bottle that he practically gushed over and told us all about how special the grapes are.  It turned out to be exactly the same wine that we'd had at our hotel the night before, also based on our server's recommendation!  To be fair it was really good wine.  If you can find it try Masseria Li Veli "Askos" Susumaniello.

Get ready for one of my favorite wine facts ever.  Susumaniello is a very old grape variety that is grown only in Puglia and until recently had been largely abandoned by viticulturists.  The origins of the species are likely Greek or Croatian.  This particular grape is very productive and you could apparently pack donkeys with a lot of the fruit.  The phrase "Susu lu somariello" means "run, donkey!"

Don't lean too far back in you chair on the streets of Ostuni!

Italy (Puglia): Lecce

 This morning was our last one in Santa Maria al Bagno.  I went for a morning walk along the small cove to take in the lovely view one more time before we packed up the car and headed north for the Baroque city of Lecce, nicknamed "The Florence of Puglia".  No offense to Florence but Lecce is pretty enough all on its own.  There are gorgeous cathedrals and churches around every corner!  It doesn't have the high street fashion stores but there are a lot of artisans and smaller local brands.  Add to that a handful of ancient Roman ruins and a busy old town surrounded by lush parks.

I hope we get to visit this cove again someday...

Upon entering the old city we came upon Basilica di Santa Croce (17th century).  The exterior truly is a feast for the eyes:

A few twists and turns later we entered a large square where an old roman amphitheater sits unearthed.  It was discovered in 1901 by construction workers and then half-excavated in the 1930s.  The other half is still under the street because, well, oops.

 

 

You have to really search for it (thanks, other internet travel bloggers) but tucked away in a neighborhood is a roman theater.

One of the largest points of interest is Piazza del Duomo, the location of Lecce's main cathedral, a seminary, and bishop's residence.

The impressive northern facade, crowned with at statue of Saint Orontius

Gate of Saint Blaise (Biagio), one of the many beautiful entrances into the old town

No, I'm not falling over in awe, though it is another very pretty church.
We were trying to capture the whole building in this narrow intersection of buildings and streets

We haven't talked about pasticchiotto!  These wonderful custard-filled pastries are THE traditional Puglia treat and one of the bakeries in Lecce, Natale, has a cult following.  They were molto delizioso.

The only museum we went into was a very unusual but recommended experience.  In a four-story stone row home what was once a family residence is now a wonderful exploration of how centuries-old structures can contain many long lost secrets (all because they had to check out a leaky pipe back in 2001!)

Check out the museum website for more information, linked here.  It's fascinating!

 

When we were ready for a break we ate lunch at the very quirky Dall'Antiquario and our server was both an excellent host and entertainer.  He had a waxed old-timey mustache but dressed like Jimmy Buffett (RIP).

Next it was time to drive further north to our next and final hotel, Masseria Cervarolo.  It is in one of the many former fortified farms that are all over the Puglia peninsula.  More on that subject in another post.

Today the property is a lovely collection of rooms in converted farm buildings.  There are outdoor and indoor dining rooms, a beautiful pool, and lovely seating areas within natural landscaping.  For this night we opted to have dinner on-site and we had a very lovely local wine recommended to us by our server.