Adventures with Julia

Galatina is a small town famous for the Church of St Catherine of Alexandria. It was built in 1391 in the Romanesque and Gothic styles.

It was commissioned by a man named Romandello. He was the forth son of a local rich lord and not expected to receive any wealth from his father. So he became a crusader knight and a dignitary in the court of Naples. He married up to the countess of Lecce. Supposedly he bit off the finger of the dead St Catherine in Naples and brought it home to create a pilgrimage destination of the Church of St Catherine. He died six years after marrying the countess. She then married her husband’s enemy, the king of Naples. After 8 years, he died in battle. She returned from Naples and commissioned frescos for the church in her first husband’s name. She did not like the work and recommissioned the frescos to be painted again by different artists. The church is spectacular. All the scenes are from the Bible: the Apocalypse; Genesis; Life of Jesus; scenes from St Catherine’s life.

From Galantine, southwest of Lecce, we drove to Gallipoli on the Ionian Sea. There we wandered around the town and enjoyed watching the scene. Being a beach town, Everyone was casual and relaxed. Gallipoli is an island with a strong ancient defensive position that makes for a good tourist visit today.

When we have not been sightseeing we have been hanging out at Masseria Trapana, our digs for 5 nights. Today we had a day off and tomorrow we plan to drive the east coast from Otronto to Santa Maria di Leuca. I apologize again for the content mishap. Hopefully it won’t happen again.