We stayed in Lecce, the baroque capital of the South, just a stone's throw from the Duomo. Our first day welcomed us with a rainbow over our terrace.
We headed straight for Caffè Alvino, where we enjoyed pasticcioti, the local cream-filled pastry, and cornetti. The firemen were setting up a stand at the Christmas market and Superman was hoping to make it onto my Superman sightings page.
Sights around Lecce, including a glimpse of the €18 of local produce we bought at the market. This included quinces, which became a panettone and quince pudding.
There was an exhibition of crèches in Lecce. including many that incorporated local scenes into the story. Bottom right is the town's castle.
Babbo Natale was in the town square every night, no matter the weather, handing out treats to children. We came across a band of musicians singing boisterous traditional tarantella songs.
Santa Croce is the pinnacle of baroque style in Lecce. The starters were at our local pizzeria. We grew to really like the Southern Italian luminarie (bottom centre) and considered buying or making one for home.
We returned to the whitewashed town of Ostuni, where we first discovered Primitivo in 2016.
We had a light lunch outside, visited the cathedral, and posed in the same spot eight years later.
Detail from Ostuni's cathedral
Lace is a tradition of Cisternino and was incorporated into the town's decorations.
Before we left for Puglia, Locorotondo showed up on feeds, advertising its beautiful Christmas decorations. We went there early evening and the town was heaving, though I managed to make it look empty in my photos. When we left, there were queues of cars and coaches for miles, heading for the town. Another example of the benefits of arriving early.
Sadly, we missed the local festival, which was advertised, bottom right.
After the crush of Locorotondo, we returned home for a dinner, including the quince pudding that Nick prepared.
Just around the corner from us was the Teatro Romano, the smaller of Lecce's two Roman amphitheatres. We made orecchiette con cime di rapa, the local specialty.
We bought a tourist card that gained entrance into several splendid places, such as the Cappella di San Gregorio Taumaturgo. I suspect the angel, top left, has had enough of that Mariah Carey Christmas song.
Scenes from the duomo and our neighbourhood grocery store, which stocked everything we needed.
Some of the photos above are of a rainy Nardò, where the restaurant owner opened up just for us, and we discovered cicoria, a seasonal local vegetable.
Vincent City is the work of a lifetime of the Puglian artist Vincenzo Maria Brunetti who greeted us by waving his two crutches in the air and saying, "Come in, come in!"
We artist sold a painting to some of his fans.
Nardò cathedral was splendid, as was the bull water fountain.
It was in Nardò that we discovered Little Saint Alex Horne. And what are those statues doing?
The Grotta della Poesia was an atmospheric and windy way to start Christmas day. All that was missing was the Speedo lads from 2016.
Back in Lecce, we made our traditional holiday chicken soup.
Inside Santa Croce
Santa Croce detail
Just near the Porta Napoli, and next to the obelisk, we discovered Reece's with potato chips in a vending machine. I regret not buying it.
We welcomed some modern, non-religious art at the Fondazione Biscozzi in Lecce. As with many sites, we appreciated having the place to ourselves.
Marmite featured on my bingo card. The plate of dough sticks and proscuitto fed us for two days.
The Basilica of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Galtina is of great artistic importance. The breathtaking interior was completely frescoed towards the end of the fourteenth century by local craftsmen.
The details would provide hours of things to look at.
We visited a photo museum in Galatina, which was filled with wonderful vintage snapshots of Puglia's past.
The local speciality in Puglia is pasticiotto, a cream-filled pastry "boat". The shop above is where the pastries originated and we queued to be served them, warm from the oven. We also bought an amazing cake (just above my hat), not knowing what would be inside. We find that, in Italy, the duller something looks, the most amazing it tastes.
One of the highlights in 2016, Otranto's splendid mosaic floor, covered with mythical and biblical creatures, spans the entire length of the nave and dates back to the 12th century.
The mosaics were supposedly created by one man, working on his own.
Otranto's seafront, with a labyrinth for Tiny Cow
We returned to Torre Sant'Andrea on a less windy day to admire the rock formations.
The Museo Storico Città di Lecce was full of art, both ancient and modern.
A day exploring Lecce, including a trip to the market. The statue is of Fanfulla da Lodi,an Italian commander who fought as a knight and was known to be especially handsome and stylishly dressed as a young man.
Art Nouveau in Lecce and one photo from the Museo Faggiano (two more shown below), a fascinating home-turned-museum, where sewerage excavations led to the chance discovery of an archaeological treasure trove.
The blue night sky is from New Year's Eve. Alberobello is the UNESCO home of hundreds of gnome-like trulli houses and a huge draw for coach loads of tourists. We arrived early morning, even before the parking attendant set up his table, to find the streets shrouded in mist. By the time we left a couple of hours later, the sun was out, and the town was buzzing.
I found these foggy photos a bit dull, so Santa and Tiny Cow stepped in to liven things up.
As the day warmed, the sun came out. We saw the two-storey trullo, top right.
The halls were decked for Christmas, including Santa's washing line.
Trulli everywhere!
These photos are actually a combination of Cisternino and Ceglie Messapica, where cook and food writer Sophie Grigson now lives. We wanted to do one of her cooking courses, but she was away. We did enjoy discovering her Slice of Italy series back in the UK.
We enjoyed a very rustic lunch and wandered the streets, which looked like oil paintings.
The lasagne, above, was improvised from leftover squash and gorgonzola.
The wonderful Museo Sigismondo Castromediano was right around the corner from where we stayed, completely empty of people and free to visit, and filled with treasures such as these.
The stone carving is 10,000 years old, from the Mesolithic period. Incredible.
The iron figure is a skillet handle from centuries ago.
Miss Gulch's bicycle, decked out for Christmas, a hazelnut cake from Caffè Alvino, and margaritas on the street
Towards the end of our trip, we visited several nearby towns with ancient Greek histories. The animals in the manger don't look impressed.
Livening up more photos. The Menhir Crocefisso (bottom left), on the municipal road Brango, stands on a rock base and it is probably what is left of a bigger monolith.
We arrived in Maglie just before things closed for lunch. Lots of things to admire, including Art Noveau.
Unbelievably for an Italian town, we couldn't find any food at lunchime. Lots of Saint George iconography, though.
This was the town where I left a very deep, very permanent footprint in the freshly-laid cement.
Our final day in Lecce was full of unexpected surprises. The ballet dancers were being photographed by the Ex Chiesa di San Marco, Tiny Cow rode a Vespa, and we had gelato at at Natale Pasticceria. Italian hospitality came to the fore as the woman who runs the place rushed out to thank us for our custom and to give us bags of sugared almonds as a gift.
The plaque, top right, is the same one pictured in 2016 with a lizard on it.
Our meal at Vico dei Sotterranei and the town geting ready for Befana.
Explore past Christmases: 2023 (Norway), 2022 (Vienna), 2021, 2020, 2019 (Paris), 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 (Gers), 2014 (Paris), 2013(Freiburg), 2012 (Dordogne), 2011 (Salzburg), 2010 (Vendee), 2009 (Vendee), 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000
