Il mio bel marito, at our hotel
Buone Feste (happy holidays)!
Christmas Day in Lecce was something of a surprise to me, in that there were lots of people out and about, and while shops were mostly closed, many cafés, bars, and restaurants were open (some open for both lunch and dinner; others only for one or the other). And we did not lack for things to do, either: we visited several churches and museums.
For €9 each, we purchased tickets (good for anytime within the next two weeks) allowing us to visit several of Lecce's best-known churches:
- Lecce Cathedral and its Crypt (Duomo e Cripta)
- Basilica of the Holy Cross (Basilica di Santa Croce)
- Chiesa di Santa Chiara (Church of St. Claire)
- Chiesa di San Matteo (Church of St. Matthew)
Note that there are also many other churches in Lecce that can be visited for free.
The tickets also included a visit to the Museo d'Arte Sacra (Museum of Sacred Art) and the Antico Seminario (Ancient Seminary). As this was where we purchased our tickets, and as we only had an hour before the churches and museum closed for the afternoon hours (between 1-4:30 PM), we started our tour at the Museum/Seminary:
Ancient Plat Book - a reminder of our former jobs!
This little statue was labeled "Infant of Prague." We've seen the "real"
Infant of Prague in Prague, and I assure you it looks nothing like this (although it too was something of a disappointment, considering the hype)
The museum contained works of religious art, as well as a collection of vestments, sacred vessels and the like. Once we made our way through these rooms, we thought that was the end of the visit (and it was getting very close to afternoon closing time). However, as we were making our way out, one of the museum employees led us across the courtyard of the Ancient Seminary (picture below) into the San Gregorio Chapel (for some reason I no longer recall, I didn't take any photos in there, but you can see a picture of it if you click the link for the seminary above). Then we walked into another room of the Seminary housing a modern art exhibit with a religious theme - some of which was intriguing, but on the whole was decidedly too modern for our tastes.
The Courtyard at the Seminary. The well in the middle is topped by
Saint Irene, who used to be the patron saint of Lecce until she lost the job to
Saint Orontius. Apparently even the saints had to deal with sexism and inequality in the workplace.
Modern religious art. Meh.
After our visit, it was time to find a place for lunch. We stumbled upon Antica Corte, which was offering a prix fixe Christmas luncheon (Pranzo di Natale according to the printed menu): several courses plus a bottle of wine for €45 per person. It sounded like a great deal, and as the restaurant had a "garden" dining area, we opted to eat here (although it turned out that the roof opening was only open about 1/6 of the way).
Looking at the menu, it appeared to read that there were options to choose from for the appetizers, first, and second courses. This interpretation turned out to be something of an iTranslate fail, but still, our bad for not knowing enough of the language to figure this out: you got ALL the food listed. For us, it was way, way too much food. We ended up not eating everything served to us (we would have exploded), and in fact, I didn't even like every dish that was offered; but still, it was an interesting experience and overall, we did enjoy ourselves:
Antipasti: there were two different "seafood salads" the differences between them being 1) one had octopus bits added, and 2) one was served on a cabbage leaf. Literally no other differences. Also included a huge swordfish carpaccio, which definitely wasn't my favorite, as I didn't care for the texture)
Primi piatti #1- this was my favorite course by far: saccottini ("little sacks" of pasta) filled with shrimp in a kind of shrimp bisque
Primi piatti #2 - tagliolini with cardoncelli mushrooms in a walnut and saffron cream sauce (I had to pick out the walnuts because, while not allergic, I do have a sensitivity to them - they make my mouth feel all cut up)
Secondi Piatti: herb-encrusted salmon, a skewer of octopus and veggies, and a kind of potato "cannellone" stuffed with a zucchini filling (which was the best thing on this particular plate, in my opinion)
Dessert #1: chocolate-covered fruit. Eh.
Dessert #2: traditional sweets, including
struffoli, which are the honey-covered balls on the left - I think of them as kind of an Italian version of Rice Krispy Treats
I have to say that the wine, a regional rosé, was quite good.
After all that food, we needed to walk off our meal, so we wandered around town a bit, eventually ending up back at the Piazza del Duomo (this is the plaza where the huge outdoor nativity scene is located), and waited for the cathedral to re-open to visitors:
The Archbishops' Palace
The bell tower and cathedral
The side entrance façade of the cathedral
Once 4:30 rolled around, we went inside - and quickly realized that seeing only this church would have been worth the total ticket price for all! Stunning baroque décor (although the original church dates from the 1100s, it was rebuilt in the baroque style in the 17th century); twelve beautiful side chapels, and a gorgeous ceiling. There is also a crypt below, which was very cool, although photography was not allowed down there (google it).
Standing near the front entrance, looking down the central nave
Ceiling above the main altar
Side altar dedicated to Sant'Oronzo
I just liked these guys
Side altar dedicated to the crucifixion and the blessed sacrament
Side altar dedicated to the Immaculate Conception (or possibly some other aspect of the mother of God)
By the time we were through exploring this delightful church, it was getting dark outside (it does get dark rather early here these days - it's definitely twilight by 5 PM). We wandered out in the general direction of Piazza Sant'Oronzo and stopped in the Church of St. Irene, which did not require a ticket, and which was also lovely, if not quite as impressive:
Side altar dedicated to Saint Irene, filled with reliquary busts of other saints, because she just can't get a break, even in her own church
Continuing our wandering, we went by the lighted Christmas Tree and Star at Piazza Sant'Oronzo, because they're awesome and I wanted to see them again...
…before returning to our hotel room for a little rest, and a Christmas FaceTime chat with family. It was really great to catch up with them!
Later, we headed out to find a light dinner, and settled on a place called Urban Café, where we shared a pizza and a bowl of frito misto (a variety of fried snack stuff). We were given knives and forks with which to eat the pizza, which was not cut into individual slices:
Next up: how we spent St. Stephen's Day.
