Surprise encounters

This is a photo taken after a wonderful lunch at Giulia's (far right) house in Foggia. Giulia is the widow of my cousin Nicola.

She has a wonderful family and we always have a good time when we visit.

On this occasion we met Sister Anna. She is the nun sitting next to Giulia and actually is her sister.

The day we met her she had just returned from more than 20 years in Libya. She is a  nurse and was working in a Christian hospital near Benghazi. She showed us her mementos - expended bullet cartridges and projectiles from the AK47s fired outside her hospital every day. The order which ran the hospital finally decided to evacuate when a large bomb exploded nearby. This all happened only a few weeks ago - long after Libya had been "liberated" from Ghadafi.

Sister Anna had no good word for Ghadafi but for all his faults he did keep the fundamentalists under control. Inmates of a local prison were released as part of the "liberation", almost all of whom were fundamentalist fighters who now control the streets and are about as committed to democracy as Ghadafi was.

It's always much easier to destroy a nation than it is to build one and getting rid of a tyrannical regime is no guarantee that what comes next will be any better.

The Libyan army gave Sister Anna and the others from the hospital an armed escort and safe passage to an airport and to safety in Italy.  

Back in Lecce - and loving it

L-R: Margaret, Josh, Raffaele, Janet, Ruth

We are back and Lecce is a beautiful as ever. We have been here two weeks so I have been a bit slack with my blog.

Once again we are here to learn Italian, eat the great food and experience the warmth and hospitality of the people of the Salento region of Puglia.

Five of us are here this time – me, my wife Janet, her mother Ruth, her aunt Margaret, and Josh who I worked with for while who is now on an extended overseas trip, mainly in Scotland and who has joined us to learn some Italian, experience Lecce and get some sun.

I have been to Italy six times and this is the first time that been here when the weather has been warm.  It has been late summer/early autumn here with the temperatures in the high twenties and low thirties every day. It’s a great time of the year to be here.

Just saying hullo really. More about the language, sights, smells and flavours next.

Raffaele’s last post

There have been no new posts from me since I have returned to what passes for normality in Adelaide.

As you can tell if you have read my blog I had a great time. One of the best things I have ever done and something that I unreservedly recommend to anyone considering a holiday with a difference.

So what have I been doing and what if any link have I maintained with Lecce and Italy?

One of the reasons I have neglected this blog is that I have started a new one, Learn Italian in Lecce focusing on Lecce as a study destination. I am now also the Australian contact for the School of Italian for Foreigners in Lecce. In that role I will be doing my best to promote Lecce to Australians and anyone else thinking of going to Italy to study some Italian.

The missing Puglia Blogs: #1 – Death in Lecce

Death is a very serious business in Italy and every town has a cemetery that is worth a visit.

The first thing that struck me is that funeral notices are done very differently to Australia. 

Nothing in the papers – instead posters are made announcing the death and the funeral and these are plastered on walls and billboards, presumably near to where the deceased lived.

The second thing that struck me is that above ground burial in crypts is very popular.

Naturally the richer and more important the family, the grander the crypt. Some look like small churches, while others look like houses. And there are community crypts for people who can’t afford their own with tombs stacked up high like marble boxes in a warehouse.