Puglia in October 2025 - Nardò and Galatone

On Friday, our second day in Porto Cesareo, the weather forecast is pessimistic. The tranquil waters outside our apartment are now choppy and during breakfast I observe the antics of two men who are trying to put their small boat in a safer position without falling in the sea in the process. They manage, and we decide to go to Nardò, hoping it will clear up enough to see the market.

The drive is about 20 minutes through the countryside, but the sky is even darker when we arrive, and the normal weekly market is reduced just to the food stalls in the covered area. We get some excellent fruit and vegetables: aubergines, green beans, Caroselli (a local type of cucumber) tomatoes and grapes from a stall by the road near the market, and make it back to the car before the heavens open. When it stops, we go to the nearby Eurospin for oat flakes but get soaked coming out just crossing the road to the car.

The weather forecast, however, is now optimistic, in particular that the sun will come out in the afternoon, so we drive towards the centre of Nardò, squabbling, as is our wont, since Andrea navigates and I drive, about which road to take, where to park and, of course, how to park. That sorted, armed with two umbrellas and now with me wearing  my winter coat which was hidden in the boot for the return journey at the end of October, we brave the cold wind, grey skies and waterlogged streets and walk towards the historical centre. Either because Andrea is an excellent navigator, I have an unfailing instinct for where to park, or we are just lucky, it’s a few minutes to the square where there’s the cathedral. The Basilica Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta is open and it’s warm and dry inside.

It's also very nice, a little baroque here and there but also some ancient frescoes from the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, including a Christ Pantocratore and a "Madonna della Sanità” and more modern frescoes in the apse from the late 19th century. There’s also a splendid wooden Christ from the 12th century, black due to the dark color of the cedar wood.

When we come out, the sky clears a little, enough for us to see Piazza Salandra in the near-sun. Piazza Salandra is a charming square: apart from the numerous monuments, including the Fontana del Toro, the Spire of the Immaculate Conception, the Sedile, and several churches including San Domenico, it is a harmony of styles and history and the warm colours of the Salento.

We book a table at the Antica Trattoria Salandra and then continue exploring. We have a quick look at the cloister of San Domenico, now part of the Liceo Artistico, then walk as far as the Castle where we chat to the man in the Pro Loco. The botanical garden in the Villa Comunale (town park) is closed because of the bad weather alert but the castle façade and statues are worth stopping to admire. It’s time to head back to the Trattoria for lunch.

Andrea found this place, and it was an excellent find. A simple trattoria ‘come una volta’ where the prices are low enough to sample many dishes of local fare cooked to perfection. We have frittini misti as ‘antipasto’, then ciceri e tria (homemade pasta with chickpeas and fried pasta on top), orecchiette con cime di rapa, two portions of tripe as a second, one spumoni between the two of us because we have no more room, water, wine and a coffee for a total of 50 euros. It is all so so good. We emerge after nearly two hours to see that it must have rained a lot while we were inside, and the wind is still very chilly. We wander around  a little more, see the cloister at the prehistory museum and the outside of some churches and then retreat back to the car.

The weather forecast is still insisting it will stop raining, even though the sky is still grey and menacing, so we go to Galatone. Fortified by another coffee at Bar Mirò (exceptionally hot and good) and half a delicious and warm pasticiotto each) we brave the cold and the rain to explore Galatone.

We walk along a road as far as Porta di San Sebastiano thus discovering that this is not the start of the historical centre, but the end of it. We double back and thanks to a kind man giving us some directions find the main square of Galatone with palazzo Marchesale, which we admire from the outside, and the pro loco office from the inside. In front, the majestic Santuario del Santissimo Crocefisso della pietà welcomes us just before another intense downpour. The church is nice inside – full baroque but a harmonious almost theatrical version with a lot of gold which pleases the eye. Other elements worthy of note are the frescoes of the dome, and the organ.

When we come out the sky is still grey but it has stopped raining, so we find the Chiesa della Madonna dell’Itria, but it’s closed. Time to go back to the car and to base to warm up.