Welcome to Manduria, land of the Primitivo wine

I have arranged an appointment at 10 with Anna, public relator of Consorzio Produttori vini di Manduria.

I have learned the Consorzio through Alceo, a magazine of enological culture edited by the Consorzio itself.

The magazine takes its name from Alcaeus of Mytilene, Greek lyric poet who wrote drinking songs.

My girIfriend Lucia and I leave Brindisi at 8 o’clock, heading to Manduria.

My plan is to visit firstly the immense archaeological park of Manduria, of which I’ll talk about in one of the next posts.

I am excited at the idea of visiting the Consorzio, which has been founded in 1932.

The Consorzio is a team of Primitivo wine makers.

Primitivo di Manduria wine is a DOC (quality assurance label).

The Primitivo grape probably arrived In Apulia with the Illyrian people more than 25 centuries ago.

The Illyrians came from the Balkans. They colonized the entire Apulia.

Those who settled down in Salento (south of Apulia) were given the name of Messapians by the Greeks. 

Therefore, Manduria hosted one of the largest Messapian community.

We arrive at the Consorzio at 11 o’clock. 

We are enchanted by seeing how beautiful and elegant is this place.

Anna is temporarily busy with some Swedish tourists.

So, Lucia and I begin to talk with Monica, a professional and smiley sommelier.

“would you like to taste some of our wines?” she asks. 

“Yes, please” we reply pleasantly surprised.

Monica let us taste the Memoria wine. 

Then, she pours in our glasses the Amoroso (rosé). 

After that we drink a glass of Madrigale. Finally one of Sonetto.

At this stage, I have to admit that I feel merry. The Primitivo wine is between 14% and 15%. I should not forget it.

I’m happy to be here.

The magic of conviviality has infected us. 

I start talking with Antonietta, a lady who comes form Milan.

She is so fond of Apulia that she has bought a property in Ostuni. “what I love of Apulia is its colors. 

Moreover, it is plenty of olive trees around here. They grow in a soil which looks to me a carpet.”

Then, we talk with some tourists who come from Torre Annunziata (Naples).

A French lady is with them. 

She speaks an excellent Italian. 

“I have had the disgrace of marrying an Italian from Torre Annunziata” she says smiling. 

Meantime, Anna joins us. We shake hands. I congratulate her on the amazing atmosphere here.  

Therefore, Anna leads us to see the Museo della civiltà del vino Primitivo.

I have the strong feeling that Anna and her colleagues are just a great team. 

Actually, they don’t just sale wine.

Their aim is higher, much higher. Anna leads people to a journey through the culture of the Primitivo wine.

“The tragic events of 1986 have given a great lesson to our country. Nowadays, Italian wine makers fully guarantee the consumers in terms of quality. “ Says Anna.

In 1986, 26 people died because of methanol added to wine by Ciravegna, a firm located in Piedmont.

Anna is a great public relator. She would be able to make anyone at ease.

We are reaching the end of the Primitivo wine tour.

Frankly, I have had great time here. I tasted excellent wines. I met very nice people, with whom I even exchanged mobile number and e-mail address.

I strongly recommend you to come to Manduria.

You definitely won’t be disappointed. 

Salute

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Once upon a time Torre Santa Sabina...

This time, me and Lucia go to visit Torre Santa Sabina, a village by the sea, a couple of miles far from Carovigno.

Walter and Ryan, two friends of us, invite us to go to the beach there.

The coast alternates a mix of rocks and sand. It offers several places where to sunbath and swim.

The sea is just limpid and clean.

Walter knows very well this place. Therefore, he leads us to view what originally was supposed to be a small port used since the Bronze age.



The potholes in the bedrock are still visible. Filled by wooden poles, they were used to moor ships.





Torre Santa Sabina was the dock of Carbina Messapica (the actual Carovigno) since the 7th century BC






Archeological researches have been resumed in 2009 to investigate further on shipwrecks of different ages.
The shipwrecks lies at just three metres on the bottom of the sea.

The historical richness of this place includes something else, pretty unique, I would say.

That is the tower, from which the village takes its name.

Tower "a cappello di prete" (priest hat).

With a star shape, it has its edges oriented towards the cardinal points.

This tower is one of dozens built up along the Apulian coast during the 15th and 16th century.

The purpose was to defend the coasts from the Saracens' attacks.




In the evening, we all go for a relaxing walk.

Lots of people are around.

kids play football on the beach.

The old people are sat down, looking at them remembering the green years.

Gnatia (Egnazia), an exciting archeological site in Apulia

My current location is Brindisi, in Apulia of course.

I was born in Manfredonia, north of Apulia.

There, my parents currently live.I live in Brindisi since one year. 

Lucia, my girlfriend, lives with me. She comes from Altamura (Apulia), well known mainly for the bread, which I admit is unique.

So, few days ago we decide to go to Altamura for the week-end. I drive my small car easy, bloody easy according to Lucia. 

I drive easy because I get sidetracked watching the landscape, the sea, the countryside. It is so relaxing.

We have driven almost 30 miles when I decide to leave the main road for a secondary one, which is along the sea. I wish to breath the sea air.

Lost in our thoughts, we visualize a road sign which informs that we are coming in the archeological area of Gnatia (Egnazia in Italian).

Nowdays, Gnatia is just an archelogical area. However, it has been for centuries a very important Messapian city (8th – 3rd century BC).

From the 3rd century BC, the Romans took over the city, building up the Amphitheatre and the Acropolis.

Additionally, The Via Traiana accrossed Gnatia. The Via Traiana, a branch of the via Appia, linked Benevento to Brindisi.

I beg Lucia for visiting the area, Museum included. She agrees.

So, I stop the car along the road. Like a boy, I grab my camera and run towards  the Acropolis in order to take few pictures. 

The Acropolis is just 50 yards from the sea. 

I take pictures of the Messapian port, most of it still intact.

I bump into two Italian tourists from Milan.

They are on the beach to enjoy the sun and to swim. “it’s really nice here”, the lady says.

I reply: “You are right in the middle of a very important archeological area”.

They seem to be not aware of what surrounds them.

It is incredible how some Italians do not feel touched by the beauty of their country.

Italy has almost the 50% of the worldwide cultural heritage. 

Nevertheless, the Italian governament assign just unsignificant resources to its Cultural heritage. It is a shame.

Me and Lucia pay three euros each to entry the museum. It contains statues, mosaics and paints on the rocks. 

It is impressive the quantity of artifacts displayed. The exhibition embraces from the Bronze age (15^th century BC) till the Roman conquest.

I am astonished by the beauty, the richness of the history of this site.

What really hits me are the Messapian ditch tombs of the 4th and 3rd  century BC. 

In most cases, these tombs are grouped together in a wider ditch, which probably contained members of the same family.

 

It is almost 3.30 pm, and we have to leave. 

The Lucia’s mum is waiting for us. 

We leave Gnatia phisically exhausted. 

However, I have the feeling that my spirit has evolved a little bit. 

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