Friday April 14, 2023
We had a nice nights sleep and wake up to a nice breakfast with Italian pastries, juice, coffee, yogurt, fruit, toast and Nutella as choices. Carol gets Italian coffee, I get coffee Americana although at the end I do take a shot of espresso that should keep me going for hours. We have pastiociotti (we are hooked) a stuffed croissant, I have 2 kiwis and some almond cookies as well as pineapple juice. Now it is time to burn it all off.
Talking with Dave we miss the turn to the museum we were going to so instead end up at the Church of San Matteo. Built in 1667, it has a nice facade with a curved design. Inside are 9 chapels depicting different religious figures. It is nice but not the best church we have seen.
We backtrack to the Museo Faggiano. It has an interesting history. In 2001, Lucciano Faggiano bought this house to open a restaurant in. The house had some seepage problems which forced him to break into the floor to fix the sewer pipes. What he found turned out to be 2500 years of history hidden below. Over 7 years of excavations uncovered this history and the restaurant drea turned into a museum. The owners wife greets us and gives us a great guide in English of the discovery. There are signs of the knights templar, underground cisterns, tombs, a Knights Templar fresco, escape holes and secret passages. It was a Knights Templar house from 1000-1200 and later a convent of Franciscan nuns in the 1600s. It is really a cool place and very well laid out. At the end I ask who they were escaping and hiding from. It was the Turks, Muslims, and ottomans, who came over and executed the Christians of the day. Sadly, this seems to be continuing today in a slightly different manner.
Our next stop is the Church of Santa Ciara, which is not particularly exquisite. The most fascinating part of this church is the papier mache false ceiling from the 18th century. After leaving Santa Chiara, we head to Antica Pucceria to have a Puccia for lunch. This is the local sandwich in this area made with the local round bread. Carol gets one with eggplant, zucchini, artichokes and cheese with olive oil. I get a Pugliese which has coppocolla, tomato, zucchini, and burrata cheese. They are handmade to order and then pressed slightly on a grill to warm them and it turns out they are absolutely delicious.
After lunch, we head to the Basilica di Santa Croce which is known for its amazing Baroque facade. The church was built by the religious order of Celestine’s between 1549 and 1646. The facade lives up to its reputation with numerous intricate stone statues of gargoyles, dragons, and other amazing sculptures. Afterwards we stroll around and end up at the Lecce Castello. In 1539, Charles V was the Roman Emporer and King of Spain. He had just inherited land in Europe and southeast Italy. Fearing Ottoman attacks he bolstered defense of the region with towers and fortifications along the the coast of Puglia. the castle was part of this plan. The castle is still being renovated and a lot of work is yet to be done, so it is really not that interesting of a site.
We return to the BNB by 1530 and relax several hours on the terrace before heading out for dinner. We settle on A Roma L’Osteria and enjoy a nice meal. We have an artichoke and mortadella appetizer, Bucatini Amatriciana, and Veal Saltimboca, which was excellent. Dinner done, Dave and Carol return to the BNB while Gwen and I walk to the train station to buy tomorrows tickets. It is a good thing as the first three machines I try do not work and finally we hit jackpot on the fourth machine. This will make tomorrow easier. That is all for today and the end of our time in Lecce.
Expenses Wine (3 Bottles) and Tarelli Grocery Store 17.43E Museum Faggiano 10E (cash) Puccia Sandwiches from Antica Pucceria Lunch 14E Dinner at A’Roma l’Osteria 43E Veal Saltimbocca, Amatriciana, artichoke, 2 beers Don Nino BNB 64.60E (5E Cash Tax) Walked 8.2 Miles
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