Lecce: A Sleepy "Town" Transformed

One of many Baroque churches

The Italian town of Lecce in the Puglia region, is located in the "heel" of the Italian boot. Rob had researched the town and discovered that it was generally off the beaten path and perfectly situated for day trips. The weather during the first couple days of their visit felt bitterly cold because of the strong wind blowing in damp air despite the air temperature only being 12°C. Even their stone-structured apartment wouldn't warm up due to its, although beautiful, cathedral ceilings and lack of insulation and weather sealing.

Monestary courtyard

“Please turn the heat down when you are not in the apartment. Heating is very expensive in Italy.”, was Cosima, their Italian host's, only request. Although they were never warm the first few days, they readily honoured her request since the apartment was both spacious and well equipped and Cosima had given them a very competitive rate for their off-season stay.

Western gate into the the old town

Although the days reminded them of those damp, bitter, December spells of their hometown of Windsor, they made the most of their time cooking indoors and catching up on their reading and writing, sometimes in their apartment, sometimes huddled up in an outdoor cafe near a heater. When the wind died down, the city became noticeably warmer, living up to the Mediterranean reputation of having mild winters. During these days they would spend more time walking around and discovering the town.

Empty old town streets

Baroque stone work

The spacious apartment they rented was ideally situated for exploring Lecce. A few blocks in one direction was the ‘Old Town’ with Lecce’s fabulous fortress castle and Baroque style churches, which lends Lecce the name, ’Florence of the South’. A few blocks in the other direction, the extensive outdoor shopping district was found. Additionally, there were markets all around the immediate vicinity allowing them to stock up on fresh, local bread, produce, and cheeses. They especially appreciated the exquisite little sweet shops, delis, and wine boutiques that feature Puglia’s regional Primitivo and Negramaro wines.

During the first few days in Lecce they remarked on several occasions how quiet and deserted the city appeared. As they walked through the old town and the periphery, they were usually alone or accompanied by only few pedestrians. They discussed how good it was to be in a smaller town as it allowed for a more authentic Italian experience. Being out of the tourist route, most locals spoke very little English compared to Italy’s western shores, which allowed them to practise their rudimentary Italian.

Baroque horses, a suitable carving topic and a local cuisine 

On their first evening, they walked around the ‘Old Town’ making note of places they would like to visit over the next ten days. One significant sight, a Roman Amphitheatre, was located beside a cafe that they ended up frequenting during most afternoons. Although they returned the next day to tour the Amphitheatre, they found that it was closed to the public. They watched from above as more than a dozen people worked on the stage - moving in potted plants, bricks, sod, and other staging equipment. When they’d seen their fill, they moved on.

Day two of the nativity construction

Day three

Subsequently, over the next few days they made notes of the progress on the development in the Amphitheatre. Buildings arose, a vegetable garden emerged, a vineyard was planted, sod was laid, and eventually paper mâché characters were added. Below them the ruins of a Roman Amphitheatre had been transformed into a life-size nativity scene complete with a star of Bethlehem made of Christmas lights strung high above their heads.

Day four

Early in their visit they stumbled upon the ‘Fair of Saint Lucia’, which is a celebration of nativity scenes which has been held in Lecce since the early 1500's. Rob and Beth wandered among the dozens of stalls set up in the former convent of Teatini each laden with nativity scenes and accessory pieces such as miniature bowls of fruit or vegetables, rounds of cheese, livestock, people, olive or palm trees, etc… Each artist created their work out of the Lecce traditional art form of paper mâché and terra cotta, while some branched into the modern form of Fimo. As there were virtually no other visitors, Beth and Rob moved about easily among the various stalls and again wondered how all of these artists could be supported.

Nativities of paper mache  
at Teatini convent

On their fourth night, Friday, they decided to explore the shopping district. Although it was late and the shops would be closed, together they thought it would be a good walk to scout out the area for an afternoon shopping trip the next day. As they walked block after block of empty streets, they again pondered how this economy was supported by so little pedestrian traffic. How exactly big was Lecce as it appeared that the shopping district stretched on and on?

Shortly after they returned to their apartment, Rob called out to Beth from the kitchen while on his laptop, "So, how many people do you think live here?"

"Uh, fifty thousand?"

"Try three million!", replied Rob.

Exhibition day of the Nativity

Same street different
atmosphere

Saturday morning they one again stopped at the Amphitheatre to see if there were any further developments to the nativity scene. To their surprise hundreds and hundreds of people were milling about the square. There were Italian-speaking guided tour groups viewing the nativities, individuals taking photos, shoppers buying the day's fresh baked delicacies, crowds gathered around street buskers. They could see that the crowds continued down the streets the Old Town as well. Rob and Beth were stunned. They felt as if they were reliving a scene from the film ‘the Truman Show’. Having discovered the population of the area, the directors needed to call on cast of characters to fill the town's roles.

Busy St. Oronzo's square celebrations

As was their plan, they returned to the shopping district and found the same situation – pedestrians crowded the streets everywhere. The Christmas season has officially begun. Overnight Lecce was transformed into the thriving urban centre of Puglia.