KYQ4: Puglia: Salento

Marina di Novaglie

After our time in the Taranto region, we had travelled down to Salento, the heel of Italy, to stay in a modern Pajare (based on the squat square peasant cottages built out of local stone). There were 16 Pajares providing a minimalist but comfortable space in an olive grove that had been in the family for many years. Imulicchi was located equidistant from the Ionian and Adriatic seas on the brow of a low limestone ridge and run by a couple who had created an oasis of relaxed solitude. The breakfasts of local produce, the abundance of figs on the trees that surrounded the Pajare and the attention to detail and kindness of the hosts added to the pleasure of the stay.

The olive trees in Puglia are being killed in their millions by a pathogen that has arrived from Central America. It is spreading at an alarming rate and the owner of Imulicchi was going to rip out all the dead olive trees once the last visitors left the following week. This was the first year that the trees had produced no olives. Given that Puglia provides 40% of Italy's olives, this is a devastating blow to the economy, which is increasingly focused on agritourism.

From Gallipoli in the west to Otranto in the east, the coastline is dotted with new apartments that are second homes to Italians from the north. The beaches are clean, safe and mainly free, unlike other parts of Italy. Otranto is a lively resort with its ancient harbour and town at the heart of the busy commercial heart adjacent to a curing town beach that is clean and well used. It was Sunday and the throngs of locals made it difficult to find a table for an early lunch. Thereafter we drove up the coast and discovered the beaches at Torre San Stefano and whiled away a few hours reading and swimming.

There are many rocky headlands with deep inlets such as the remarkable stone pool at Marina di Novaglie just north of Leuca, the town on the southern tip of Puglia. At this time of year, the crowds have gone and the sea is calm and warm. Most of the cafes and restaurants have closed so we would spend hours on the beaches, the afternoon sun was no longer raging but still 28°C so we could take a swim every time the dry heat prompted the urge. Our regular beach was at Torre Vado, just 15 kilometres away from our Pajara. The dry afternoon heat was set at an ideal temperature and ice creams were available at a modern well-managed beach restaurant that oozed Italian style.

We stayed near the quiet inland town of Specchia that had a wonderful piazza, a clock tower that emitted long peels every 15 minutes and was the meeting place for local residents as they engaged in animated conversations in the open-air cafes and bars. Another local small town, Tricase, also had buildings that embodied the best of Italian style and culture. They were both places to sit and enjoy the atmosphere that good urban design engenders. Many of the smaller villages were less attractive with ugly 20th-century concrete houses lining the narrow streets that were a nightmare to negotiate. We also made two trips to the major towns of Lecce and Gallipoli that both rewarded us with all the best features of historic architecture and were designed for community living. It is said that time stands still in Puglia but it raced along during our stay but the day we left was the day that the weather changed so our timing had, for once, been perfect.

We had an easy two-hour drive to Brindisi where it took no more than 10 minutes to return the car and enter the airport. It is a modern, efficient airport and built at a scale that makes flying attractive. It was not so arriving back at Gatwick, where we had to negotiate over a kilometre of corridors, escalators and moving walkways before finding customs, and then find the shuttle train to the railway station located at the other terminal. The sooner we eliminate these dreadful hub airports the better. Neither Heathrow nor Gatwick should be expanded, they are dispersed cathedrals to carbon emissions and have already far exceeded the size that any rational customer can tolerate.