Geoff and Rita's Trip to Malta and Southern Italy, 2017

Visited the UNESCO World Heritage town of Alberobello which resembles an urban sprawl - for gnomes.  The district of Riona Monti sits on the side of a hill and has a dense mass of 1,500 whitewashed beehive shaped stone huts all nestled together.  It is the only place in the world where there is an entire dirstrict of Trulli, making it culturally important. The creation of the Trulli started when the Spanish Viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples subjected homes in his domain to pay a tax.  In 1481 the owners of the lands where Alberobello stands today wanted to avoid paying this tax and instructed the peasants working their land to build dwellings dry, without the use of mortar.  This would allow them to be easily demolished if the Viceroy's people came to inspect the area.  The peasants used local limestone to create round, self supporting circles that ended in a self supporting domed roof.  The Trulli was created.   Looking up the hill at a sma...

We ended our coastal drive in Gallipoli, which means beautiful city in Greek.  I am not sure that is an appropriate name for this very muscular looking fortified town.  The old town of Gallipoli is situated on a small island and is linked to the nearby mainland by a bridge built in the 16th century. Local rowboats sit in front of Angionino Castle walls which were originally built in the 13th century.  The new town can be seen across the bay. The castle walls surround the city as does the sea.  Several fortified improvements were made to the protective walls during the 14th and 16th centuries.  Gallipoli is a large fishing port as well as a popular beach destination. The layout of the old towns narrow, twisted streets is from its Moorish domination around 900AD.  St. Agata Cathedral was built in the 1696 in the Baroque style.  The interior paintings on the sides and roof of the Nave depict the life, miracles and martyrdom of ...

After exploring the wonderful little town of Otranto we decided to drive the long and winding road along the coast to get to Gallipoli instead of taking the much shorter route inland.  We were very happy we did.  The coastal drive offers wonderful coastal views and some crazy driving through several very small seaside villages. Some of the rugged and very rocky coastline that is largely uninhabited along the heel of Italy We followed several cars down a very narrow and windy road to be rewarded with stunning views of the secluded cove of Porto Badisco.  There were a lot of people sunbathing on the beach and swimming in the stunningly clear turquoise waters. Minervino Tower is one of four towers that was built along this coastline during the 16th century to help defend the interior from sea attacks We parked the car and walked across Ciolo Bridge and turned off onto a rugged little trail that gave us this impressive view of Ciolo Bay and its pebble...

Today was another hot and sunny day (29c) as we headed out to explore the Adriatic seaport town of Otranto, take a drive along the coastal road around the heel of Italy to Santa Maria di Leuca, its southern most spot where the Ionian Sea meets the Adriatic Sea and finally ending up in the island city of Gallipoli located on the Gulf of Taranto before heading inland and back to our lovely Trulli.  It was a very full day but we saw a lot of natural as well as man-made beauty. Today Otranto is a charming little seaside town filled with happy tourists.  But back on July 28, 1480 it was a very sad place as 150 Turkish ships carrying 18,000 soldiers arrived and lay siege to the town.  After two weeks of fighting the Turks successfully stormed the castle and laid waste to the town and its population.  All males 15 and over were murdered and the women and children were sold into slavery.  Otranto was recaptured by the Italian Christians led by King Ferdinand of Naple...

Our TomTom tells us we are a 90 minute drive from the main city of Puglia, Lecce and its lovely historic center.  We got up a little earlier to make sure we would have time to take in all the sites of this fabled city.  The city is over 2,500 years old but the 17th century was a period of great prosperity for Lecce due to its strong rural economy and it being a religious center.  This lead to grand developments and the wholesale construction of palaces and churches.  In fact, over the course of a hundred years or so, Lecce's face changed completely, mostly into the fashionable Baroque style.    The main city gate, Porta Napoli, was built in 1548 to honor Emperor Charles V and is modeled on a Roman Triumphal Arch.  In 1901, during the construction of the Bank of Italy building this 2nd century BC Roman Amphitheater was discovered in the Piazza Sant Oronzo in the core of the city.  It was completely covered under the city and even now is ...

As mentioned earlier, we are staying in the middle of nowhere and we love it.  So peaceful and serene.  The closest towns are 8km east and west of us and of course we had to go and check out these little gems. Martina Franca is the highest town in this region (500 ft above sea level) and was established in the 10th century by refugees fleeing the Arab invasion from the coastal town of Taranto.  In started to flourish in the 14th century when Philip of Anjou granted tax exemptions, allowing the town to become so wealthy that a boon in Baroque style buildings was created.  We strolled around old town before stopping for a lovely lunch and a local beer before heading off to our next destination.  Church of San Martino built in 1785 is considered a masterpiece of "Salentine Baroque" architecture The lovely designed Plebiscito Piazza is full of restaurants, bars and cafes        Also situated on a hilltop, Locoro...

Rita and I really enjoyed our time in Malta.  It was very special for me to see where my Dad spent the worst three years of his life and to go through the very impressive war museum to really appreciate the hardship he and everyone else here had to go through.  It's a very special tribute to the Maltese spirit.  Also the incredible history of this tiny island and the importance it has been to the great powers over the centuries.  But we also found it to be a very laid back and easy place to be as well.  The people were very friendly and welcoming plus the value for your money here is excellent. Best of all, the weather was warm and sunny in April. We left Malta aboard Ryanair (a first for me and a positive experience) for our 90 minute flight to Bari in Puglia, Italy.  We picked up our rental car, plugged in our TomTom and headed for our accommodation, an hours drive away somewhere in the country.  We got totally lost and stopped by a roadside cafe ...

Left the new capital of Malta and headed inland to explore the historic old capital.  The first major settlement of Malta was done by the Phoenicians in the 8th century BC and they settled in what is now Mdina.  The North African Arabs took the city in 870AD , massacred the population, destroyed the city and looted its treasure.  After that Malta was virtually uninhabited until it was resettled in 1048 by a Muslim community and their slaves who created its current protective walls and gave it its current name, Mdina.  It remained the capitol of Malta until the arrival of the members of the Order of St. John in 1530 and the capital was moved to Burgu (now Vittoriosa).  Mdina's city boundaries are contained within its walls and has a population of just 300.  The walled city of Mdina sits majestically on a hill overlooking lush farmland  Mdinas's main entry gate.  Originally a moat filled with water surrounded the walled city.  Today it...