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The Pearl of Puglia
Mar. 10th, 2009 07:29 amI am tucked away at a Bed and Breakfast in Trani right now, having my first wifi experience of my adventure so far. Ahh, the internet…
Lecce finished on a very high note, with wonderful weather and a great weekend of busking. I’ve headed to Trani for two days to see one of the reputedly most beautiful seaside towns in Italy and try my hand busking in new territory. I’ve taken the evening off, but I’m eager to give it a shot tomorrow!
This city is absolutely gorgeous, and I can see why it’s called “the pearl of Puglia” (Puglia being the province). All of the cities in this area are built of local white Puglia stone, but this one shines more than most. The medieval part of town is a maze of winding alleyways, and the city has actively discouraged tourism making it both authentic and affordable.
I had thought that Trani didn't have much of a Roman history since I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, but in the crypt of the cathedral are rows of recycled (and mismatched) Roman columns. It's much more of a medieval town, having peaked during the crusades as an exit port to the Holy Land. There's an old Templar church by the port, for example, and my guess is that the church of the "santi medici" refers to the holy
Order of the Hospitallers rather than the Tuscan banking family ("medici" meaning doctor, the profession for which the Tuscans were named and sharing the root with English "medicine").
To completely digress, it’s interesting to note the Italian reaction to the economic situation, which they refer to as “La Crisi”. The often-annoying Italian fatalism seems to be doing them a lot of good, since I haven’t noticed much of a change in attitude from my previous visits. If anything, there’s a relief that the recession isn’t their fault this time since they’ve had more than their share of them.
What’s dragging down the local banking sector is a bit different from the US situation. Italian and Austrian banks loaned a lot of money, denominated in euros, to people in the new and incipient EU countries of the former Soviet Bloc. The problem is that these countries aren’t yet
on the euro, so as their own economies tank and their exchange rates sink default rates are going through the roof as they owe more and more
local currency to maintain a fixed loan in euros. The solution, of course, is to give these countries expedited admission to the eurozone but Germany (still pining for the Deutschmark) is dragging its heels.
Anyway Trani is lovely, and I’m paying dorm rates for a private room that happens to have seven other empty beds in it. Yay off-season!
Lecce finished on a very high note, with wonderful weather and a great weekend of busking. I’ve headed to Trani for two days to see one of the reputedly most beautiful seaside towns in Italy and try my hand busking in new territory. I’ve taken the evening off, but I’m eager to give it a shot tomorrow!
This city is absolutely gorgeous, and I can see why it’s called “the pearl of Puglia” (Puglia being the province). All of the cities in this area are built of local white Puglia stone, but this one shines more than most. The medieval part of town is a maze of winding alleyways, and the city has actively discouraged tourism making it both authentic and affordable.
I had thought that Trani didn't have much of a Roman history since I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, but in the crypt of the cathedral are rows of recycled (and mismatched) Roman columns. It's much more of a medieval town, having peaked during the crusades as an exit port to the Holy Land. There's an old Templar church by the port, for example, and my guess is that the church of the "santi medici" refers to the holy
Order of the Hospitallers rather than the Tuscan banking family ("medici" meaning doctor, the profession for which the Tuscans were named and sharing the root with English "medicine").
To completely digress, it’s interesting to note the Italian reaction to the economic situation, which they refer to as “La Crisi”. The often-annoying Italian fatalism seems to be doing them a lot of good, since I haven’t noticed much of a change in attitude from my previous visits. If anything, there’s a relief that the recession isn’t their fault this time since they’ve had more than their share of them.
What’s dragging down the local banking sector is a bit different from the US situation. Italian and Austrian banks loaned a lot of money, denominated in euros, to people in the new and incipient EU countries of the former Soviet Bloc. The problem is that these countries aren’t yet
on the euro, so as their own economies tank and their exchange rates sink default rates are going through the roof as they owe more and more
local currency to maintain a fixed loan in euros. The solution, of course, is to give these countries expedited admission to the eurozone but Germany (still pining for the Deutschmark) is dragging its heels.
Anyway Trani is lovely, and I’m paying dorm rates for a private room that happens to have seven other empty beds in it. Yay off-season!
