Via Francigena nel Sud Day 33: Torchiarolo - Lecce

Road to from Rome Day 33: Torchiarolo - Lecce

The wind blew us all the way to Lecce!

Which was a good thing, as there wasn't much to see along the way. More dead olive trees. And stumps of dead olive trees, piled in heaps to be taken away or burnt. And, here and there, groves of young olive saplings, newly planted specimens of a strain with greater resistance to the plague. A sign of hope, in a dead and dying landscape. 

We stopped at the 12th century abbey of Santa Maria del Cerreto, which I was able to visit for free thanks to my membership in FAI, the Italian national heritage organisation. 

From the abbey we continued on to the town of Surbo, where the newly elected mayor, alerted to our passing, wanted to meet us. We waited outside the town hall in the wind for him to come down and say hello, then we took a group picture on the steps of the town hall before proceeding on our way through the colourful houses of Surbo, out into the countryside again and through the suburbs to Lecce. 

Posing with the mayor in Surbo

The church in Surbo

Colourful Surbo

In the outskirts of Lecce

When we finally reached Porta Napoli, the northern gate of the city of Lecce, and entered the old town centre, we were stunned by the beauty of this city entirely built and paved in the warm beige hues of pietra leccese stone. 

Porta Napoli

We were posing for a group picture in front of the cathedral when the archbishop happened to come along. He invited us into the bishop's palace beside the cathedral, showed us around and stamped our pilgrim credentials with his own personal stamp! 

We retired to our lodgings, showered and cooked ourselves some pasta, then joined the rest of the group at the Irish pub down the road. Here we met Daniela, who lives in Lecce and will be walking with us on Sunday and Monday and writing the last two entries in the collective diary; she works as a guide, and offered to give us a quick tour of Lecce by night - one of the best times to appreciate the city, when there are no shops, restaurants or people to distract you from the architecture! 

News coverage of our arrival in Lecce