We are house hunting in Puglia right now and it is pretty stressful. There is a reason all those books and shows about people buying houses abroad are so entertaining—when you are trying to negotiate a major purchase in a second language you don’t know all that well in a culture that is quite different from your own, and when don’t have experience buying a house even in your own language or country…let’s just say that humiliating disaster is just an accidental ‘Sì, capisco’ away!
Another snag is that in order to view houses, you have to drive to them. There is nothing wrong with Puglian roads except that they were probably designed for donkey carts and have possibly never been repaired. Stopping at a stop sign is considered optional, even for policemen. Freeway exits are sometimes at right angles. The other day we almost died because there was a brick wall right up to the edge of the road so that you couldn’t see cars without sticking your nose out far enough to get swiped. The driver of the other car gesticulated wildly, obviously.
But neutralizing The Constant Fear are all the cute, nice, surprising and amazing things you see in Puglia. Here are ten things that I think are pretty particular to Puglia (there are obviously others: olive trees, fichi d’india and the Padre Pio cult are a few more).
- Caper Flowers
I really like eating capers and sort of knew that they were pickled flower buds. I did not know their flowers looked like this. Somehow it makes the idea of eating the buds sad. I’m still going to do it though.
- Trulli
All over the countryside there are little conical stone houses called trulli. The most famous ones are in Alberobello, where they are whitewashed and inhabited. But you can see other, cruder ones, in the wild, where they were generally constructed as temporary field shelters and storehouses or as permanent dwellings by small-scale landowners or agricultural labourers.
- The Sea(s)
On the east is the Adriatic (named for the Emperor Hadrian), on the west is the Ionian (possibly named for one of Zeus’ mortal lovers Io, who swam across it). I like them both: the east is choppy and lively, the west is tranquil and turquoise. The locals believe that the west coast is more beautiful, in fact they call the east coast ‘brutta’, which seems a bit unfair.
- Terra Rossa
The farms around here have a distinctive dark-red soil. Puglia is covered in limestone, which often occurs concurrently with terra rossa but it seems to be a matter of debate as to exactly why the soil is like it is. In any case, it drains well and is good for growing grapes. The most famous wines from around here are Primitivo and Negro amaro.
- Coastal Towers
Most of these were built by the Spanish in the 1500s to create a defensive system against Ottoman pirates. They weren’t so much fortifications as communication towers—smoke/fire signals could be seen or bells could be heard quickly and the message would be passed on all along the coast.
- Goofy Baroque Architecture
Don’t get me wrong, Lecce (famous for its baroque historical centre) is very grand and impressive. But after the initial dazzlement you start to notice bizarre details that are pretty funny. To me that makes it more interesting and endearing.
- Homey Flair
Sometimes I wonder about some homeowners’ style decisions. I actually really like all of these things, but they are unusual and a bit whacky.
- The APE
The acronym ends up spelling ‘bee’ in Italian and it’s very appropriate because it buzzes all over the farms carrying everything from olives to hay to hardware. It’s a ubiquitous sight not only on Puglian farms but also on freeways.
- Dry Bread
Taralli and the smaller tarallini are ring-shaped crackers with a grainy texture like sand that are perfect for aperitivi. Frisellini are extremely dry rusk-like bits of bread that, when you cover with oil and tomatoes, are surprisingly edible. Then there is toast, which is here accompanying pureed beans and bitter chicory covered in olive oil, which is delicious.
- The Light
The light of bright day makes the colors seem saturated and almost flat. The mornings and evenings are either pale, bleaching into white or dramatically red-orange.
