Apulia | Salento
Salento | Apulia
The Salento is home to some of Italy's loveliest towns and cities: the sea-front fortified gems of Gallipoli and Otranto, the baroque sophistication of Lecce and the luxurious seaside of Leuca in Liberty style .
In Salento there are also hidden gems that are off tourist trail but they can keep the interest for the unexpected and unspoilt city centers like Santa Maria al Bagno, Galatina , Galatone and the others that are only twenty kilometres from Lecce and they preserve the strong tie with the greek culture . In fact in these area there still is the Grika, the local dialect, and many are the gastronomic reminders, cultural and religious traditions to the hellinc roots .
La pizzica | between medioeval times and Apulia's tradition
The Pizzica: a ritual made of rhythmic music and dance, invented by women, had the aim to show their desire to be free from the oppression of a strict and patriarchal culture. It owes its roots to the Dionysian cults, which came from Greece, during which people were inebriated by the strong wine and by the music. At the beginning of Middle Age, this dance became a curative dance, meant to get remove the poison injected by the tarantula in the body of the woman that made her insane.
The cultural and musical heritage of this ritual is still remained and Pizzica is a music and a dance that is played during family reunions and there are many villages where Pizzica festivals animate the summer nights.
Many contemporary players arrange the modern version of the Pizzica and in the recent years many concerts of Pizzica took place either in Italy or in Europe and the most important one is The Night of Taranta.
Salento | What to eat
The cuisine of Salento is reach of ancient traditions, with ancient flavours and smells, regional specialties and a few secret recipes are reason enough to organize a trip to this enchanting culinary paradise. Many are the appetizers and street food so names like pucce and rustici leccesi are well known names everywhere. But we can't forget the large variety of homemade pasta, fish and lamb meals cooked with virgin olive oil that is produced in Apulia and accompanied by a selection of red wines like Primitivo and Negroamaro : the two most famous grapes .