Christmas time is about to come up and Salento begins to dress up. Traditions, culture and flavours characterize this period, seen as the most cheerful of the year. The city of Lecce, the biggest cities and the small villages of the Salentine peninsula will be lighted by a warm atmosphere thank to illuminations sparkling historical centres, the most hidden corners, squares; thank to big Christmas trees full of presents, living cribs or made of papier-mâché, Christmas music and songs.

Enjoying and experiencing the most beautiful days of the year among the Salentine villages is a travel inside the beauties of this wonderful land and, at the same time, finding out ancient traditions, traditional fairs and exhibitions where it is possible to find antique objects of Salentine Christmas culture: artistic cribs, puppets, shepherds, animals, characters from the crib made of papier-mâché or terracotta recalling an exclusive Salentine homemade tradition.

It is possible to find folk, tradition and memory of Terra d’Otranto at the traditional Fiera di Santa Lucia, the fair of Saint Lucy, will be organized from the 5^th to the 24^th December 2009 in Lecce. A fair which is rooted in memory and past of a popular culture, it was opened in the past the day when it is celebrated the religious feast for the Saint. An exhibition of cribs and shepherds of the Salentine culture, handmade by skilled hands of the last craftsmen: papier-mâché and terracotta, two artistic expressions of the native production, shaped to live again shepherds, animals and characters of Nativity, caves and everything is needed to set a crib. The fair, apart from being an important event from an artistic, historic and cultural point of view, recalls tourists from everywhere fascinated by the art and culture of Salento.

The fair of Saint Lucy in Lecce is the right chance to enjoy beautiful moments to discover old Christmas traditions admiring masterpieces from a poor art which hides memories of an exclusive land and offers tourists the possibility to have a piece of Salento in their cribs.