One week in June, Euro Euro 1.400,00.

Reservations and information: http://www.salentotime.it/santa-maria-di-leuca/villa-seaview-puglia-rent

Melograni, Lecce countryside: Euro 600,00 a week :www.casinagialla.it

Palazzo Guglielmo, double room with breakfast: Euro 100,00 a night : www.palazzoguglielmo.it

Easter is coming and every village in Salento is going to celebrate it in a very special way; the ancient customs are pursued with a strong participation.

The rites start on Monday and continue until Saturday, when a festive pealing  announces the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Suggestive processions take place in every small town; these celebrations are able to involve and even deeply touch people who come to attend them.

Traditional sepulchres are prepared on Maundy Thursday. Inside every sepulchre there is the “piattu pe lu sibburcu”, that is the dish for the sepulchre: it is made of wheat germinated in the dark. This practice originates from the myth of Adonis, who died and came back to life every year.

On Friday the processions commemorate the Way of the Cross, that is the journey of Jesus Christ to Calvary carrying the cross on his shoulders. Among those who attend these celebrations there are the “incappucciati”: they are members of different confraternities, each one noticeable by the color of their clothes. These men parade wearing typical mantles, hoods and the pilgrim’s staff; their passage is announced by the drum roll and the trumpet sound.

Among all processions, the most suggestive and touching is certainly that which takes place in Gallipoli, called “L’Urnia”. It starts during the afternoon and goes on until two am. As a sign of penitence, some participants are barefoot and beat themselves using an ancient instrument of torture called “disciplina” or carry two big stones on their shoulders.

In the so called “Grecìa Salentina”, you can attend the traditional “Chants of Passion”, that is a collection of litanies in the “griko” dialect, which were performed by local cantors as a sign of devotion.

The “Caremma” is a puppet typical of the Salento popular costumes. It represents and old, ugly and thin woman dressed in mourning; it holds a piece of wool with a spindle in his right hand and in the left a bitter orange (Marangia) with seven chicken feathers tucked into it as the number of the missing Sundays from the beginning of Lent to Easter. The spindle symbolizes hard work and flowing time; the bitter orange with its bitter taste represents pain and the seven feathers are taken away at each passage of the week. The Caremma has a propitiatory meaning and is exposed on the balconies and on the roofs of the houses. On Easter Day, when the sound of bells announces the Resurrection, the Caremma is burned to indicate the end of Lent.

For those who love good cooking, there are many dishes related to Easter time and with a strong symbolic value: for example, the “Cavatelli al vincotto”, that is handmade pasta dressed with a kind of bittersweet vinegar, whose color reminds the blood of Jesus Christ.

WE MAKE DISCOUNTS AND OFFERS FOR THE WEEKEND 16-18 MARCH 2012

These days a 40 meters long table is set in the main squares of the villages to receive the Holy Family and ten Saints. There are nine dishes to taste while saying prayers; all of these dishes have a strong symbolic value and represent the best of  local gastronomy.

The Holy Family, made up of  the Virgin Mary, Joseph and Jesus Christ, sit by the ten Saints: Saint Anne, Saint Elizabeth, Saint Zachariah, Saint Gioacchino, Saint Philip, Saint John, Saint Mary Cleofe, Saint Agnes and Saint Joseph of Arimathea. They don’t wear coloured clothes, but   everyday clothes, because Saints are played by loved persons or eminent guests. This year you could be the Saints!!!

The Table is set with white hand-embroidered clothes and lilies and laid with “pasta and ceci” (called “massa” in local dialect) ; the “massa” represent the colours of narcissus, which flowers in spring. “Lampagioni” in vegetable oil and in vinegar represent the shift from winter to spring, fried fish reminds of Jesus Christ, the cauliflower reminds of the Saint Joseph’s flowered stick, the “ncartiddate” (honey-coated sweets) represent the Baby Jesus’ stripes; the stockfish, instead, was prepared only on the occasion of importants events.

The way in which food is eaten is very suggestive: Saint Joseph sits at the head of the table holding his stick. He tastes the dishes and, when he decides to change dish, he beats the stick twice on the ground; in this way the other diners understand that they have to stop and proceed to another course.

Come to share a unique experience!!!

Allow Anna Maria to accompany you on a voyage through her beloved Salento. This introduction to the history and traditions of her land that will leave you wanting more. More delishes dishes to prepare and enjoy with family and friends. More Baroque churches, old farmhouses, centential olive trees, and the crystal clear turquoise Mediterranean Sea. You will be so capitivated that your next vacation will be a culinary one. You will want to travel to Salento to discover this beautiful region, its people and new recipes with Anna Maria at her cooking school, Il Gusto del Tacco.

Publication Date:dic 05 2011
ISBN/EAN13:1467919101 / 9781467919104
Page Count:80
Binding Typ :US Trade Paper
Trim Size:8.5″ x 11″
Language:English
Color:Full Color with Bleed
Related Categories: Cooking / Regional & Ethnic / Italian

2011: a season of great success for the whole Salento and for Salentotime too.

This year our website celebrates his 13584 unique visitors from the first of January 2011 to the 31st of October 2011; the 43% of these visitors were coming from abroad.

In the same period we received 492 written requests of reservation concerning specific accommodation as well as generic and telephonic requests.

Salentotime has been in the tourist market of Salento since the 21stof March 2007; during the first three years Salentotime has practised the activity of Tourist Office in the office set in Regina Isabella street, in the heart of the historical centre of Lecce.

Even this year, November is the month dedicated to the selection of properties that most affect us for elegance, location and amenities; we choose among houses, villas and trulli, always giving priority to the reliability and helpfulness of the owners that represent for us the best guarantee we can offer to our customers.

Moreover, we have a great news for the next holiday season: on the page of every structure we will indicate the telephone numbers and the e-mail address that owners will provide us, in order to create a direct link between the customer and the owner who will manage the reservation requests in a completely independent way.

As always we will continue to offer telephone and e-mail service to those visitors who will need advice, information or clarifications.

We hope to meet you soon in Salento.

During this month there will be another important event called “I TRENI DEL CENTENARIO”, because this year is the centenary of the birth of Maglie – Gagliano del Capo \ Leuca – Nardò railway, which was inaugurated on October 16 1911 by the old “Società Anonima delle Ferrovie Salentine”.
Moreover, “Sud Est railways” will celebrate their eightieth birthday with an exhibition of coaches of the thirties, restored and brought back to their original colours. These coaches are pulled by a typical diesel engine dating back to 1955.

Finally, for those people who are fond of cinema or theatre a course for actors and actresses will be held in the province of Brindisi, organized inside the Drama School “Talìa”.
The whole course will be about Charlie Chaplin. Don’t miss it!

Still another month of sunshine and hot weather; one of the months that, as well as June, offers the best opportunities to discover Salento.

Now that August and its confusion are over, beaches become livable again and Salento shows its best side: local people’s kindness and a profitable offer at all levels.

In September we recommend staying in the b&b set in the historical centre of the wonderful town of Lecce or discovering South Salento in residences built inside palaces, old country houses and manor farms.

Here are some tips:

CASINA GIALLA, 3 km far from the city center of Lecce www.casinagialla.it

PALAZZO GUGLIELMO, in South Salento, 15 km far from Otranto www.palazzoguglielmo.it

VILLA MEDITERRANEA, low-cost holiday, next to Torre dell’Orso beach: Euro 210,00/week (2 pax) from 10 september

For further information and other offers contact: info@salentotime.it

Enjoy September in Salento!

TRULLI LE DUE PIETRE in Santa Maria di Leuca from July 23 to 30 only € 480.00

VILLA MEDITERRANEA in Torre Dell’Orso Two-room apartment (sleeping accommodation for 2-4 persons) from July 23 to 30 from 600,00 €

UNA FINESTRA SUL MARE in Gallipoli (sleeping accommodation for 4 persons) € 650.00

PALAZZO ROMASI – charming residence with swimming pool set in the historical centre of Alessano a few minutes from Santa Maria di Leuca – (sleeping accommodation for 4 persons) 750.00 €

CASINA GIALLA – charming farmhouse with pool in the country of Lecce, 4 km to the hystoric center (from 2 to 5 people) Euro 600,00

Hurry to book!
Request information and we will send you an e-mail with the best deals for your holiday in Salento in July.

We offer 10% discount for a minimum two nights stay in all our accommodations, in April and May 2011.

Among the initiatives planned for spring 2011:
- In Carlo V Castle, the Chagall’s exhibition “The mind’s sign”: you can admire a good Marc Chagall’s 80 paintings until the end of April;
- The European Film Festival’s 12th edition, from 12th to 17th April.
- “Cortili Aperti” (Opened courtyards), across Lecce’s alleys, 28th and 29th May: a successful initiative that allows people to visit the private courtyards of the most beautiful baroque palaces.

We are at your disposal for any kind of information about b&b, farmhouses, trulli, and to to arrange your transfer from Brindisi or Bari airports.

e-mail: info@salentotime.it – Tel.+39.0832.303686