In the region of Puglia, south of Taranto and Ostuni, at the very tip of the heel, is where you’ll find the Salento. It’s one of the most beautiful places in italy with beaches on two coasts and sun soaked villages in between. Having only been as far as Lecce on an earlier trip, I was looking forward to to getting better acquainted with the Salento.
Galatina
I arrived at Brindisi airport in the early afternoon. I had two options to get to Galatina—either way was going to take longer than I wanted with many transfers. I opted for what I thought would be the easiest as I’m much better on the trains in Italy than the bus. I took the local bus from the airport to the Brindisi train station, then took a train to Lecce and from there the train to Gallipoli. There was an unexpected transfer at Zollino which I didn’t understand but thankfully some people took me under their wing and guided me to my next train. All in all the trip took about 2 hours.
St Paul’s Chapel in Galatina
I’ve been wanting to come Galatina for a long time. In fact, when I was first planning my trip I thought I’d stay here for a month or longer. As the home of Tarantism, I had high expectations for the place. Galatina is a small city, not far from Galllipoli. It’s most known for it St Paul’s chapel and the Festival of St Peter and Paul held every year on June 29. It was because of the festival that I had chosen to come to Galatina.
I arrived the day before the festival to a very quiet and deserted place. Most Italian towns that aren’t known for large tourist populations still have a siesta in the middle of the day but the siesta in Galatina was particularly long, it started at 1:00pm and things opened again around 5:30-6:00. I went out on my first day around 4:00, I had been traveling all day and I needed water and something to eat. I think I was the only person out, I saw no one and everything was closed, it was like a ghost town. Luckily I found a small supermarket near the train station that was open. Along with the cafes and restaurants, most churches and museums were also closed.
The food was a little disappointing, one being nothing was open for lunch so I basically made sandwiches from the supermarket and because of the festival many of the restaurants had limited menus which consisted of mostly fried foods and pizza. I did have the most fantastic pizza at Il Covo della Taranta and a nice meal at Le Tre Grazie. Unfortunately, I had one of the worst meals of my life (hard to believe in Italy) at the famous restaurant Anima & Cuore. I really didn’t think cheese and prawns went together but I thought maybe the restaurant had it figured out—in my opinion, they did not.
Basilica di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, Galatina
From the above comments you may think I did not like Galatina or that I was disappointed but that’s not actually the case—I liked it very much. In the evening the town was lively, maybe because of the festival, maybe not. The people were friendly and helpful. If you’re not there for the festival you can easily do Galatina as a day trip from Gallipoli (but come early in the morning) or stay for a night. Sights not to miss include the Basilica di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria with it’s amazing murals on the walls and ceiling, St Paul’s Chapel, The Museum of Tarantism and several churches or simply just wander and get a pasticciotto (or 3) from Pasticceria Andrea Ascalone.
The Museum of Tarantism, Galatina
Otranto
I took the train from Galatina to Otranto. I went the day before to buy my ticket and realized that no one was at the station to sell tickets. You have to buy your ticket online at fseonline.it, this is trains and buses only for the south east of Italy, purchasing online was easy and I had no problem using my phone for proof of payment. I did have to make two transfers, once at Zollino and again at Maglie. From Maglie the trains no longer run to Otranto so they have a bus you can take just outside the station that goes directly to the Otranto train stain. I actually stayed at the train station in Otranto. The upper floor of the station has been restored into a small b&b with rooms and shared bathrooms. There is also a shared kitchen. The b&b can arrange cooking classes and other arts and music classes for you. The station is not in the city center but it’s an easy walk to the beach and the center. There are several supermarkets nearby if you want to cook in one night.
Otranto
Otranto is more accustomed to tourists and because of the beach, many restaurants along the sea stayed open in the afternoon. The old historic center is filled with many souvenir shops that are open too. Must sees include the tree of life mosaic floor in the Otranto Cathedral and the Castle.
Otranto Castle
A very small section of the Tree of Life mosaic floor
I stayed three nights but you could probably be fine with 1-2 nights which would give you enough time to see the city and lay on the beach. The water is beautiful; I spent hours just looking at it and marveling at the colors-turquoise and sapphire. Pictures will never do it justice.
Couldn’t you stare at that all day
I loved Otranto, it was laid back and relaxing which is exactly what I needed. I originally envisioned myself renting a bike and riding it down the coast but me being me and slightly clumsy on a bike (most of my childhood accidents involve me hitting parked cars while on a bike), I wasn’t sure it was a good idea. Maybe next time!
A wedding outside the Cathedral