S8 Ep546: ### Segment 6 Headline: Exploring Italy’s Hidden Gems: Lecce and Otranto in the Puglia Region Summary: Lorenzo Fiori recommends visiting Lecce and Otranto to avoid over-tourism, highlighting Roman ruins, unique architecture, and the local Primitivo wine a

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I'm John Bachelor. Lorenzo Fiore from Milan joins me, and we begin our tour of Italy. Because

of over tourism, Lorenzo is come forth to recommend to Americans especially, but also

to our European listeners, parts of Italy that are not overrun with tourism. The Italian

government works, worries a great deal, about the wear and tear of its museums, its churches,

and its ruins. Because of the people that want to see everything in Rome and for Renzi

and Venice and other beautiful cities. But we're going to go to cities that are only attractive

to insiders, that is Italians, where there's beautiful architecture, deep history, lots of Roman

ruins, and then Lorenzo will service a meal that is perfect for the region and a wine that comes

from the region. The first stop is, if you have picture Italy as a boot, we're going to the heel

of the boot, Lecce in Puglia. Lorenzo, a very good evening to you. Thank you. You tell me the

stones of Lecce are special. How so? Good evening. Good evening, John. Good evening to all the

listeners. Lecce is pretty unique because the lights there is different from anywhere in Italy. Why?

Because the air is always very clear, very dry, and so the color of the sky is absolutely

distinctive and town, which is an old town. I mean, with a lot of Roman heritage, is made with a

special stone that is a calcarous stone that, to a certain extent, magnify the power of the

sunshine light. So everything is very bright there. I remember that I spent a couple of times

in Lecce, even during this season, having a very nice stay at Dioltella Patria,

in the terrace, drinking a martini drive with big olives from the territory, and enjoying these

fantastic lights. So I do recommend to go there, not only for the lights, but also because Lecce

can offer other things, if you like. I can mention them because it's an important town,

an icon of the Baroque. Yes, well, first tell me about the Roman ruins. What are they like?

Well, there are Roman heritage, mainly a Roman amphitheater that is dated the second century after

Christ, which is well visible for a third part of it, well preserved, with a structure that

is surrounded by the buildings of the town. And the other is the Roman theater that the

tourist can perceive, walking in the old town, because most of it is covered by the existing buildings,

and that was a Roman theater very, very large. It was containing up to 4,000 spectators,

so an important heritage from Lecce. The Lecce Cathedral was built in the 12th century.

Everything in Italy is enormously old, and then there's even older. But I want to leave

Lecce for a moment and go to the very tip of the boot of Toronto. What does that look like?

Well, if you go to Lecce, of course, you can miss Otranto. Otranto is on the seaside,

fronting the Yonio Sea, so fronting the Greek coast. It has beautiful summer resorts in terms of

swimming, taking some bath is perfect. You have crystal clear water, you have sandy,

that is white, white again, the effect of the lights that I would say is so distinctive of

that part of Italy. But Otranto has also a very nice old village, which is paved by the same stones

we mentioned about Lecce, and there is also a lot of heritage from Roman and from Byzantine

culture. There is a beautiful cathedral, so I do recommend a visit to Otranto, that is just

a 40 kilometer south of Lecce, so a matter of 30 minutes by bus.

Because Americans come in the summertime, is it too hot in Otranto?

No, no, it's not so hot. I mean, the time is hot, I mean, temperature goes up to 40 degrees now,

Celsius, but let me tell you, Otranto and that part of the Italian peninsula is well mitigated

by a breeze that very likely is affected by the Balkan mountains, so it's a different climate

there, a different environment compared. For example, to simulate it, but in Sicily,

that some time suffer because of the wind that comes from the Sahara Desert, that is a very hot

and very humid, so night are very pleasant. The time could be hot, but typically dry, not

humid, and so you can, I can say, live better than other part of Italy, where I recommend

everybody to go. What I could suggest, don't go in August, simply because August is very busy,

many Italian goes there, for they are always in vacation, so I do recommend throughout

all the year, but not August. All right, now you're going to serve us a meal because we're exhausted

traveling so far from Rome. You're going to serve us pasta with how is it prepared and what is

the wine? Well, this is of course a recommendation from Puglia. I mean pasta, I recommend macaroni,

the short pasta, not spaghetti. You have to prepare the turning tops that you can boil

with macaroni, and then when everything is okay, you put everything into a pan and you

thought with the garlic, anchovies, and hot chili, and then head fresh olive oil. Of course,

Italian olive oil, and this is fantastic, the right meal to start the night of the weekend, and

don't forget to drink the Puglia red wine. If I have to recommend, I would recommend the

primitive, which means the primitive, in English, fantastic red wine, full body, dark red

pearl, very tasty, a perfect combination. This is, primitive is grown outside of Lecce,

outside of El Chanto, it's right there. Yes, yes, in the area of Lecce, but also in the north

part of Puglia. So, I mean, it's a typical grade, I've talked on that grow there.

And can we get primitive in America? Do we have to come to Lecce together?

No, I think that you can buy, now you can buy everything you have to wear in my opinion,

but the primitive is a specific unique wine. So, I mean, if you want to discover something that

is different from the wine that are well known in the US, like Brunello, like Barolo,

like Barbaresco, like Marrone, then you can try primitive because of the quality.

And the taste doesn't have anything to say we are a wine of secondary choice, it's a good

top choice wine from Puglia. No overtourism, go to Lecce, go to El Chanto in June and July,

not in August, so the Italians will be there. Lorenzo Fiori, my Italian guide, I'm John Bacheler.

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