Today is a holiday in Italy. All Saints Day. Government offices and most businesses are closed. Today is our day to explore Lecce, take in the sights, crazy architecture and people watch. We bring our handy GPS and start out. Along the way I see many examples of the baroque architecture that made Lecce famous.
Did you ever wonder why almost all of the Renaissance art is Biblically inspired? Due to the complete power of the church over government during the Renaissance, religion held total sway over art and artists. Church leaders like the Pope and bishops commissioned much of the famous art of the period. When the church is your patron, your art will be what the church wants. Biblical scenes were painted and sculpted to educate an illiterate population. These biblical scenes are on display throughout Lecce on the façade of churches and castles and inside as well in the form of sculptures and frescoes.
Fashion is a more secular pursuit and the Italians practice this with a passion. On our last visit to Italy, eggplant haircolor was all the rage. Two years later, American women copied this trend. By 2010, only a few grandmothers have eggplant head, but a new trend has taken over. Boots. Every woman in Lecce wears boots. We’re not talking little dainty boots. 
Big leather biker boots tucked into their jeans. Boots going past their knees with mini skirts to make them look like strippers. We went to the Piazza Sant’Oronzoto get some gelato at Gelateria Natlae and people watch. Every woman was wearing boots. Not just young, single women, but moms pushing strollers, preteens and grandmothers all wearing biker boots. I joke with Karen that next year the trend will be biker’s helmets to go with the boots.
While people watching on the piazza, a police car drives up and stops in the middle of the road. One policeman and one policewoman get out of the car and start chatting on the piazza. About 15 minutes later, the policeman wanders over to a care and starts talking to the driver. He was going to write him a ticket for parking illegally since his car was directly under a no parking sign. The driver disagreed and pointed out that there were at least 40 other cars illegally parked on the same street. I guess he’s questioning why he’s being singled out. Watching this discussion, Karen and I are mesmerized. After an hour, no ticket is written, the conversation is ongoing, and we leave for our siesta.
Southern Europeans are known for eating late. Once in Spain, we were in a restaurant eating a late dinner. As late as midnight, families with toddlers were sitting down for dinner. But, since we had missed lunch, we were hoping for an early meal. Most places in Spain and northern Italy were open early for the tourists. No so in Lecce. Restaurants don’t open until 8pm, so we have some time to kill. We walk the passeggiatia, an evening stroll where the whole town (literally thousands of people) walks and chats before dinner. It is quite a scene with young families and teenagers, grandparents and couples out and about. This is one of our favorite aspects of Italian life. Chatting with the neighbors, walking around town, it all seems some civilized.
Karen and I made our way to the public garden in the north end of town. We sit on a bench for some prime people watching. Besides boots, the other fashion statement in 2010 Italy is the puffy coat. Think the ski jackets stuffed with down we used to wear in the 70’s. It has been over 70 degrees both days in Lecce, but to the Pugliese this is bone chilling as they are wearing winter coats. When the summer temp regularly goes over 100 degrees, I guess 70 seems cold. Karen and I sit in the park and count puffy coats. I get a point if a man is wearing a puffy coat and Karen gets a point if a woman is wearing a puffy coat. The score is 7-7 when we leave for dinner.
I’d been looking forward to dinner at Osteria degli Spiriti. Great reviews online and highly recommended in Lonely Planet. We start with a bottle of the local Primitivo. The waiter recommends the antipasti platter which is the best we’ve ever had. Fried mushrooms, pickled eggplant, spinach crepes, stuffed peppers, and zucchini. This could have been a meal in itself. I tell the waiter this is like Italian tapas with the small portions, but he didn’t understand me. For pasta, I order orichetti with rapini since I didn’t have orichetti the night before. Karen orderes the spelt spaghetti in marinara. But when our entrees arrive, Karen’s has pecorino cheese on it, so we trade. 
A good trade, but I still want homemade orichetti before I leave Puglia. After all, Puglia is renowned for it’s orchetti. This will be the meal by which all other meals on our trip will be measured. Sheer perfection.
On the way home, we wander by a bar and Karen said “They’re playing country music.” I can’t hear what they were playing because we were outside, but see a guitar player in a cowboy hat, so we walk in. They are playing a hillbilly version of “Walk of Life” in heavily accented Italian. The college kids in the bar are drinking beer from the bottle (something I have never seen in Italy) and going nuts for the music. The bouncer is dancing and singing along. I turn to him and say “Dire Straits.” He stares back at me blankly.
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