Trailing Off....: "The Florence of the South"

Lecce is called “The Florence of the South”. Having never been to Florence, I have no idea if this is accurate. We stayed here for two nights and after the small towns we’d been visiting, this city of 95.000 people seemed like a metropolis. It has been an important town for two thousand years and has experienced its fair share of conquering and pillaging. It’s famous for exporting a soft malleable limestone and for having a lot of Baroque architecture. If the other towns were “white cities”, this one is “pale yellow”.

We took a bus to Fasano and a train to Lecce (the internet neglected to tell me that the train station in Cisternino was about 12 km from the actual town). The entire journey took less than two hours so we had time to buy our bus tickets to Napoli before meeting Alessandra at the flat located in the centro historico. S is a genius when it comes to map reading skills. How he found that tiny street on the tiny map with a zillion unmarked tiny windy streets is incredible. I just followed blindly behind. The outside of the flat appeared to be an old rundown building but inside was quite the opposite.

the loft apartment-very modern yet cozy

S leading the way down winding streets to our flat

our hood

We immediately went to the restaurant Alessandra and Paul declared as the best in Lecce and only 50 feet from the flat. And as usual had our fill of wine and food.

restaurant near our flat

For a full afternoon and evening we explored the streets of Lecce. I lost the map on which S had marked all the places we stopped to see so I haven't a clue about the majority of pictures I took. But I realised when starting this post that I only partially mind. Knowledge of architectural styles eludes me and I forget most of the information presented on plaques shortly after reading it. The feeling stays though. The wonder at what it must be like to be surrounded on all sides at all times by creations built by men to declare both their self-worth and devotion to God. Is that why there is so much graffiti? Is it a way for people to say, "Look at the now. We are here. Now." And does the stone and marble become so familiar the residents can't see it the way I do? So while I should be noting the intricate designs on the columns and the choices of figures adorning rooftops, I am aimlessly walking and thinking these thoughts.