23km, 7 hours with breaks
Highlights – The Pajari, and the old town of Lecce.
It is a short walk out of the town, back past the church and the colourful terrace houses of the town. Today, we become acquainted with Pajari, a similar stone structure to the trulli of the Valle d’Itrea, but with a flat rather than a conical top – they are present in many of the fields, historically used as shelter and storage. Unfortunately, in many of those fields, the olive trees continue to be decimated.
A couple of hours in we arrive at the Abbey of Santa Maria di Cerrate. We take a seat outside to eat our lunch. I enquired about entry; she described an extensive complex, covering the history as a farmhouse and as a monastery, but at €8.50 each to enter we decide not to visit; we would have needed an earlier start to take full advantage of the complex, and it wasn’t possible to just visit the frescoes, nor was there a pilgrim discount. We did however get a stamp!
It is a lovely shady path that leads away from the complex, with more shell fossils to slow our progress.
It is then a long trek on the bitumen, amongst empty fields and windmills.
The last seven kms of the day are through the outskirts and suburbs into Lecce. There is one long stretch of busy road around the shopping centre where we have to keep a close eye on the traffic, a noisy section near the freeway, but overall along footpaths through housing areas.
Finally we arrive at the entry to the old city, via the grand gate, Porta Napoli, with sunset not far away. We take a quick look at some of the buildings, and seek our stamp at the information office before heading to our accommodation.
It is soon nightfall, and we take a walk around the streets of the old city, with the christmas tree and lights up in the city centre. The town is very lively tonight, with a busy passeggiata and outdoor eateries in the piazzas big and small.
We initially planned a rest day to better explore the town, but with all the time we have lost, decide to keep moving and return after finishing our walk at SMdL (and let’s face it, we have had a lot of rest days so far).
Cattedrale Maria Santissima Assunta
Basilica di Santa Croce
Eat – Cafe Alvino, opposite the anfiteatro and the place to go apparently for the Lecce speciality: the Pasticciotto.
Trattoria da Angiulino – recommended for local specialities.
Richo and DC 