5/17 Time to leave Lecce and head to a resort for one night in Mattinata which was about 3 hours away. We decided to stop at a few other cities to break up the trip and see some other things. Getting out of Lecce was not too bad and once on the autostrada, an easy drive. We stopped in Brindisi to see Santuario Maria Nascent (Chiesa S. Maria del Casale). This church was totally different from any others we’ve seen. It was very simple but elegant. The altar was panoramic, giving it a very different feel and look. The images were painted directly onto the wall and so beautiful even though faded. Again we say we won’t keep stopping at churches but if they are all so different, how can we not? Below are a few photos we captured.

We continued our drive to Martina Franca which is at one end of the Itria Valley which is known for the huge number of Trulli. Trulli are traditional dry stone huts with a curved roof made out of the same stone. The pinnacles of some of the conical roofs are painted white. Other roofs had white painted designs and others are left in the gray of the stone. Some of the huts and roofs are both painted white. Our route took us on to Alberbello, best known forTrulli homes, and then onto Bari.

Bari is another city where there is much renovating going on to help preserve and modernize the buildings seen in this building which has the Italianate Style.

As we continued our walk we found a lovely park near the Castello Svevo di Bari. We did not take the time to go inside the Castle but we enjoyed the walk and the view.

We did take the time to enjoy a pizza for lunch. It was cooked exactly the way we love it, nice thin crisp crust with a delicious sugo and of course Mozzarella Cheese.

Next city was Palese which is in the Bari Metro area and happens to be the home town of my very dear friend, Gianna or better known as Jan Conte! Took a few photos so she could see that we really did drive through the town. It has a university so that meant it has some beautiful apartments for the students and I am sure residents as well. I am sure Palese has changed since Jan was there, for as we all know, time changes everything . The Dream Bar Cafe was very cute and modern and is where Jim bought some Coffee Ice Cream. As you can see from some of the photos, the apartments are colorful and well done. Had to toss in a few trees and flowers! Since we arrived between 2-4 pm, everything except the bar was closed so we walked around enough to get some photos and then left for the next city.

Giovinazzo is the town where Jan’s mom was from. Since the weather was looking like rain, we only stopped long enough to take a photo of the town piazza and the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II.

We continued our drive to Mattinata where we were staying at the Hotel Torre Santamaria Resort. This really took a bit of work to find because it was well hidden on the back roads along with other restaurants and hotels. After quite a few turns and turn arounds, we found this little gem with it’s beautifully landscaped grounds and olive orchard and behind the cottages, a gorgeous view of the mountains.

They had a bar which offered a light dinner if you chose and full breakfast in the morning. We decided to just eat something light since we were in the car all day, so we sat outside looking at the scenery.

In the morning, the breakfast choices were unbelievable and delicious, again we sat outside to enjoy the weather and the scenery.

We left the hotel Wednesday morning, heading to San Salvo Marino, another three hour drive.