I met Mario in Piazza Castromedian.
In the piazza are three well graffitied copper and glass structures that look a bit like modern art. They are in fact windows to an underground Roman city, discovered during excavations some years ago.
Mario explained to me that they were connected to the nearby Roman amphitheatre and that much of the old walled city is built over the old Roman town.
Lecce was a town near the Appian Way which linked ancient Rome to the Adriatic Sea. It ended on the coast where Brindisi is now.
Anyway Mario must have thought I was in need of divine help as he insisted on showing me Chiesa Sant’Angelo, the church he goes to every morning for mass and communion.
Along the way we popped in to say hello to the nuns in the convent next to Chiesa San Giovanni Battiste.
As we walked he told me some of his life story. His knees are buggered, he can’t see very well and he has high blood pressure. He has four children, and only one has a job. His wife is sick and his niece is expecting a child at any time. None of sons are married, preferring instead to “co-habit”. After the war he went north looking for work. After working for a time in Swtzerland and Lombardia, he returned home to Lecce.
After we left the beautiful Chiesa Sant’Angelo I offered Mario a coffee which he declined blaming his high blood pressure. As proof of his various ailments he pulled a fistful of tablets out of his pocket. He walked me back to Piazza Castromedian where we parted company.
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