Santa Maria al Bagno: a painting for sale on the famous Saatchi Online

The beauty of Santa Maria al Bagno again in the middle of the scene. In fact, the international artist Ieva Baklane, who live and work in Canada, after seeing some pictures of her relatives regarding their holiday, got inspired by the place and painted “Santa Maria al Bagno, Italy”. 

The painting is for sale on the website of the famous contemporary art gallery SAATCHI. Thanks to my friend Hakan for sharing this news and be part of it!!

Nardò DOC Red and Rosè Wines - Ancient wine for a new market!

A table wine available as red or Rosé, the Nardò is mostly made from Negramaro grapes, which give the wine a distinctive bitter note, but other vines can be added, for instance red Malvasia of Brindisi and red Malvasia of Lecce, both of Greek origin. The Rosé is pale cherry pink in colour, the flavour is rich and quickly fading, winy, fruity with notes or raspberry and blackberry. The taste is pleasantly dry, warm, almost smooth, poorly tannic and tasty, full-bodied and well-balanced. The red has a nice ruby red colour, which can range from pale to dark, with some orange specks if aged. The flavour is winy and rich, the taste is well-balanced, slightly bitter, velvety and reasonably tannic. The minimum alcoholic strength of both wines is 11.5 degrees. With a minimum alcoholic strength of 12.5°C and two years’ aging, it can be labelled as “Riserva”.

Matches - How to consume it:
The Rosé should be drunk with moderately rich dishes, such as boiled sea fish with sauce, stuffed cuttlefish, pasta and chickpea soup, baked gilthead. The read instead is a good match for red meat, especially lamb, pork, mixed boiled meats and cold pork meats.

How to recognize it:
As well as mentioning the Registered Designation of Origin, the label must include all the information laid down by the law: native region; designation, in which the cultivar from which the wine comes is matched to the geographical area in which it is grown; nominal volume of the wine; bottler’s name or corporate name and address; bottler’s number and code; country; batch number; ecological information.

Notes:
The perfect serving temperature for the rosé is 12-14°C, in glasses for smooth rosé wines within two years of the harvest. The red should be served in long glasses at a temperature of about 18°C.

This is a noble and full-bodied wine that in the past has been used for cutting more famous wines. Now there are several wine producers in the area who are gaining a place in the sun in the wide list of Italian wines.

If you have a chance to spend your holiday in Nardò area or around its marinas Santa Caterina, Santa Maria al Bagno and Sant'Isidoro, you can free taste those kind of wines directly at the producers shops or winery.

The following is our suggested Nardò wine tour:

1) Cantina Sociale di Nardò - http://www.cantinanardo.it/azienda_en.php

2) Vini Bonsegna - http://www.vinibonsegna.it/INDEX.HTM

3) Schola Sarmenti - http://www.scholasarmenti.it/default.asp

4) Vini Gabellone - http://www.tenutegabellonevini.it/ita/azienda.asp

5) Vini Totò - http://www.vinitoto.it

Cultural paths: Dominican Salento, the “polycentric city” of convents

In the province of Lecce, there are a number of architectural remnants of the Order of Preachers' settlement. Their presence dates back to the 13th century; their goal, to curb the area's Byzantine influence.

San Domenico's Church - Nardò, Lecce, Puglia, Italy (Luigi Spano photographer)

Live in the community and inhabit the city: this is Saint Dominic's precept for his friars. The diffusion of the Dominicans in Southern Italy dates back to the papal boll Clara Ordinis by Celestine V. The Dominicans' settlement was already established at the end of the 13th century. The reasons that prompted the presence of the Dominicans in the Salento area can be identified in terms of the need to stem the spread of a « Greek-like » culture which set this area apart from the rest of the South: the Byzantine influence had already become firmly rooted in this area. For many centuries the Order spread throughout Europe. The Council of Trent contributed to strengthening the Dominicans' activity in the area. In the Salento area, the number of convents founded between 1300 and 1626 totals twenty-one... Read More on http://www.culturaitalia.it/pico/modules/percorso/en/percorso254/percorso_0001.html?T=1253810697729

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Salento and the "Barocco Leccese" from UNESCO World Heritage

The Salento peninsula in South-Eastern Puglia extends, between the Adriatic and the Ionian Seas, from the last hills of Murgia to the headland, Capo Santa Maria di Leuca, and its celebrated homonymous sanctuary, marking Finibus Terrae, which was probably built over the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to Minerva. The Salento peninsula is prevalently calcareous, with a typically Karstic landscape, not rich in surface waters, featuring a profusion of underground craters, caves and grottoes.
In the course of the centuries, the landscape was moulded in turn by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Normans and Aragonese as this borderland acquired increasing strategic and commercial importance. (...)

However, the distinctive character of the Salento peninsula comes from a series of architectural achievements associated to an artistic phenomenon known as Barocco Leccese, which developed in Lecce, Salento's historical and artistic centre, and in Terra d'Otranto between the second half of the 16th century and the end of the 17th century. In those years, thanks to a particular combination of ideas and circumstances, the culture and urban structure of both town and province were totally re-modelled with works composing an unmistakable urban fabric of extraordinary architectural and artistic value. The local stone, a compact-grained marbled limestone "honey coloured, that can be carved with a penknife" (Cesare Brandi), used as building material greatly enhanced the creativity of local artists. The stone is soft and easy to cut, and it used to be hardened and made resistant to rain and humidity with a very particular process: it was soaked in fluid containing whole milk and this reduced its porosity making the surface hard and compact. (...)

Nardò, at the heart of the Salento peninsula, was an important centre in Roman times and increased its cultural, political and economic relevance during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; in the 18th century, the works of the celebrated Neapolitan architect, Ferdinando Sanfelice, gave it its distinctly Baroque characteristics. This brilliant artist personally designed the church della Purità (1724) and the Cathedral's new façade (1725) and gave impulse to the innovations, already in full swing, focussing on a re-definition of architectural volumes and of the urban structure; the outcome can be admired in the scenic street wings, in the variety of road tracings (a good example is the one connecting the churches Santa Teresa, Santa Croce, San Francesco di Paola, Santa Chiara and San Giuseppe) and in several picturesque villas in the suburban area. (...)

Justification for Outstanding Universal Value
Satements of authenticity and/or integrity
These cities have maintained what is known as ‘Barocco Leccese' - the urban and architectural structures as well as and the decorations - so that this style's building, technological and formal characteristics are easily identifiable. Restorations were performed following adequate methodologies by the competent Superintendent and further improved this property's state of conservation.

Comparison with other similar properties
The architectural school known as ‘Barrocco Leccese' may , in general terms, be compared to that in Western Sicily (Noto, Siracusa, Catania) which, however, was accomplished in one particular circumstance, in the 17th century, immediately after the terrible earthquake. On the contrary, the ‘Barrocco Leccese' covers a much longer period so that a series of buildings, erected at different times, show an extraordinary continuity of style.

Read the full article on http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1149/

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Italy: Puglia (Apulia or Le Puglie) - Overview

Santa Maria al Bagno beach, Nardò, Lecce, Puglia, Italy - Luigi Spano photografer

Puglia contains the provinces of Bari (also the name of the regional capital city and now a chic resort), Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce and Taranto. It covers an area of 19,356 sq km (7,474 sq mi) with a population of some 4 million. Puglia forms the heel of the Italian boot, jutting into the Ionian and Adriatic Seas towards Albania and forming the Gulf of Taranto to the west. The original inhabitants were probably from Illyria and Greece, and Hannibal and Frederick II were just two of the many invaders who passed through and left their mark (Puglia’s ports were also stopping points for the Crusaders in the Middle Ages). More recent ‘invaders’, who are claimed to have caused an increase in crime in the region, include Albanian and Kurdistan refugees, who frequently wash up on the shores of Puglia.The region has low rainfall and chronic water shortages and therefore only crops resistant to drought are successful. An adequate water supply is essential in this region. The huge Tavoliere plateau near Foggia is a rich grain-growing plain producing around half of Italy’s durum wheat (for pasta); other important crops include olives, of which Puglia supplies around half the country’s needs, almonds and grapes (for wine). There’s some heavy industry at Bari, Barletta, Brindisi and Taranto, but the region has a high unemployment rate. The Gargano peninsula in the north-east has a steep, rocky coastline and peaks rising to around 1,000m (over 3,000ft); it encompasses a national park, where wooded crags thrust into the sea towards the tiny Tremiti Islands. Here lie the historic sanctuary of Monte San Angelo, attractive towns such as Peschici and Vieste, and tourist amenities such as the holiday villages at Pugnochiuso. The impressive grottos or Caves at Castellana are a major tourist attraction, as are the 13th century fortress of Castel del Monte in Andria and the marine grotto of Polignano.Property: The cities of Bari, Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce and Taranto contain superb examples of Baroque and Romanesque architecture. Unique local forms of architecture include white-washed houses with dark conical roofs known as trulli, which are found only in Alberobello, and isolated, walled country farmsteads (masserie). Traditional country and coastal properties include attractive, whitewashed cube-shaped houses. In general, property is reasonably priced except in the centre of cities; centrally-located property in Ostuni or Vieste costs from €1,000 to €1,800 per sq m, although prices in Barletta rise to €2,100 per m2. The property market is currently buoyant, although Italian buyers far outnumber foreigners; the few foreign buyers favour Brindisi, Gargano and Lecce area. Communications: A motorway and railway line run along the Adriatic coast, but connections to the west are difficult due to the Apennine mountains. The region’s main domestic airports are Bari and Brindisi. Regular ferries to Greece and the former Yugoslavia operate from Brindisi and Otranto.

from: http://www.buyassociation.co.uk/

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The last patch of land of Puglia, Salento

Route The confluence with the immense sea in Salento

Torre Uluzzo Bay, Nardò, Lecce, Puglia, Italy - Luigi Spano photografer

Wet from two seas, Jonio and Adriatic, suspended between West and East, Salento, in Puglia, contrasting land with exquisite tastes, not only in gastronomy. The town is a magnificent collage of Baroque and Morocco styles; with high and steep side coasts and large and sandy extension. This geographic area thanks its glamour to sea mixing its vitality with the end of Italian boot, where resides actual in this double soul, unpredictable and charming. A vacation in Salento, will be an important change, it is as the sign of the simplicity: you should look over it without hustle, reaching the extreme boundary of Italy, to Santa Maria di Leuca and return, to enjoy the beauty of its places and immersing in the much cultures that here marked the history.

itinery from: www.discoveritalia.com
ad from: http://www.sispropertyandtourism.co.uk

Buying properties in Puglia: Golden Rule

If you are looking for a property investment in Italy and/or in Puglia, new upcoming area of the South, the "heel" of Italy, please deal with licensed estate agents only. The role of Italian real estate agents is quite different from that British one.
In the UK everybody can set up an estate agency without any qualification or experience. Viceversa in Italy they must be professionally qualified, hold a licence to practise and have indemnity insurance. The agents operating without license are illegals.
On internet there are many unlicensed mediators, dealing with foreign buyers, selling properties and renting holiday home. Do not trust them! They promise lots of useful services but the real extra service they provide is to charge a commission up to 100% more than a licensed Italian agent, or, raise the market price of the property. Moreover if you take their advice you will not be covered by the legislation and the code of ethics which the legal agents must adhere to. If you are dealing with an agent ask for their registration roll number to the chamber of commerce and which professional association they are registered to. Remember buying property in Italy, legally, is safe as buying property in the UK, all you need is just to know the differences and follow the rules! For further info on this topic read the buying guide and FAQ section on http://www.sispropertyandtourism.co.uk

Puglia, Salento: the "heel" of Italy

Have you always been attracted by new places? New traditions? New people?
But you haven't done yet because of time? Or money?
Well, you don't need to go far away or spend a fortune, what you need is just to look at THE HEEL. A land where history, traditions, miths, ancient civilizations, various cultures all melt into your arms, pleasing you with a priceless gift: a memory you will never forget.

Let your senses drive you to the right place this time! Open your eyes to miles of sandy & rocky beaches, marvellous Mediterranean landscapes, picturesque villages, elegant façades, Cathedrals & monuments in Baroque style, ancient castles, archaeological sites, charming farmhouses. Make your taste happy with our healthy Mediterranean cuisine, discover our local specialities, our fish just caught, our D.O.C wines, our extra vergine olive oil, our tempting desserts, liqueurs and more.

Add new sounds for your ears, too! Come and free yourself totally with our Pizzica, a therapeutic folk music, as the past suggests, or with a Opera performance in one of our several theatres or with numerous live music events. Finally, from our gastronomy to pinewoods forests, from sea breeze to aromatic herbs all around are delicious smells waiting for you.

Don't let them down!
Come and visit us.
See You!

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