We left Lecce in a hire car and set off to explore southern Italy.
Our first stop was Otranto, a small harbour town close to Lecce. The old city was surrounded by thick stone walls and ramparts.
We visited the Cathedral which had an amazing 12th century mosaic which almost covered the entire floor of the cathedral.
At the back of the cathedral behind a large altar were three glass cabinets containing the bones and skulls of the “Martyrs of Otranto” – more than 800 citizens slaughtered by the Turks in 1480 because they refused to renounce Christianity.
We spent a few hours at Ostuni known as “La Citta Bianca” (the white town) because of its white-washed walls and buildings.
We spent a couple of nights at Alberobello, a town famous for its trulli huts.
A trullo is a building with a conical roof made without mortar.
On some of the roofs symbols had been painted with lime for decoration or for good luck
A short drive from Alberobello was the seaside town of Monopoli
From Monopoli it was a short drive to Polignano a Mare. The old city was perched precariously on the top of high limestone cliffs that jutted out into the sea.
On the way back to Alberobello at the end of the day
The next morning we set off for Matera stopping a couple of times on the way.
The marina at Trani
Cathedral of Trani
The old fort at the tip of the harbour at Trani
Castel del Monte – a castle/citadel situated on a small hill.
It was a very unusual design – there was no moat or drawbridge and the castle was shaped like an octagon with an octagonal shaped tower on each corner.
The castle was built around a octagonal shaped courtyard that was open to the sky.
We arrived at Matera at dusk.
The town lies in the middle of a small ravine and it is famous for its “Sassi” (stones) – houses dug directly into the rock.
The slightly claustrophobic, damp kitchen and bedroom of Casa Grotta del Casalnuovo – a typical cave house dug directly into the rock
Inside the “Palombaro Lungo” – the enormous underground tank or cistern that served as the town’s water supply
We stayed overnight at Capaccio-Paestum to visit the extraordinarily well preserved Greek Doric temples dedicated to Athena, Neptune and Hera at Paestum.
The highlight of the museum at Paestum were the painted tomb frescoes
Our next stop was the city of Caserta to visit the Palazzo Reale (the royal palace and extensive gardens) constructed for the Bourbon kings of Naples and inspired by the Palace and Gardens of Versailles.
In front of the palace was 3 kilometre long avenue with a series of fountains and cascades decorated with Carrara marble sculptures.
We visited the Montagna Spaccata (Split Mountain) at Gaeta. According to the legend, the rock split at the exact moment of Christ’s death.
Views of Gaeta from Monte Orlando
On our last day in Italy we drove to the Abbey at the top of Monte Cassino
We drove a short way down the mountain to the Polish cemetery with its 1,051 graves
Our final stop for the day and in Italy, was the German cemetery (20,057 graves) located at the top of a hill outside Cassino
