Lecce Epilogue

Eight  reasons to put Lecce at the top of your list of potential destinations if you are thinking about studying Italian in Italy.  By the way it also happens to be a great place for a holiday.

1. The city: Lecce is a beautiful, elegant baroque city steeped in tradition and history. The historical old city is stunning. The baroque architecture, museums and art galleries alone definitely make a visit worthwhile and the people are warm, friendly and welcoming.
2. The region: Lecce is in the Salento region of Puglia and within easy reach of beautiful places to visit. They include the UNESCO listed towns of Alberobello and Matera, the white hill top town of Ostuni, Putignano famed for its Carnevale parades and the picturesque coastal towns of Gallipoli, Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca.
   
3. The courses: The 10 week course I did was excellent. My teachers were highly skilled and very patient. The maximum class size is 12. Because it was the northern winter the classes were even smaller – lots of individual attention guaranteed. The cost of the courses is very reasonable and the University of Salento is one of only a handful of public universities in Italy offering Italian for Foreigners.

Another exam! Didn’t you just finish?

L-R: Anna-Raffaele-Valentina-Cristian-Angelo

Earlier on my journey I told you about Cristian Telesco, who is doing a study on the migration of people from Puglia to Australia and beyond.

I met Cristian early in my trip when he asked me to participate in a seminar he has been organising in Lecce about his work.

It meant returning to Lecce one more time. The seminar was held last Friday (1 April).

Cristian asked me to talk about my memories and experiences as the son of post WW2 migrants to Australia from Puglia.

He said I could do it in English and he would translate. I was honoured to be asked, accepted and then set myself the task of doing it in Italian.

My course is over and I am dreaming in Italian

I had my last lesson last week and I had my exam this morning. My course is over. I can’t believe how quickly the past 10 weeks have flown past.

The first time I came to Italy was with Janet in March 1986, almost 25 years to the day and in a bizarre case of déjà vu, that year Ronald Reagan bombed Libya while we were in Italy, and a few weeks later Chernobyl exploded.

Other than the bizarre repeat of history 25 years later (Libya and Fukushima) two things stick in my mind about my first visit. The first is the very odd feeling that comes from looking like you belong without any of the shared life experience of actually being local. Like when you are asked for directions by Italians and can only shrug your shoulders.

The feeling is very difficult to describe. It actually has its advantages. You are less easily picked as a tourist and I have never been ripped off, even in Naples where I have been four times.

The second was the frustration of not being able to communicate beyond the basics of food, transport and accommodation – especially when Libya was exploding just to the South.

This is my fifth time in Italy. I am now very comfortable here and by virtue of 10 weeks of intensive Italian and having to use Italian everyday to communicate, my language skills are much better than they were.

As Libya and Japan unfolded in recent weeks I could watch Italian television and read Italian newspapers and understand the detail of what was happening in a way that I could not have done 25 years ago.

I am not fluent yet, the grammar still bothers me but I am understanding more and more as each day passes and I am now dreaming in Italian. 

Carnevale in Putignano

The Carnevale celebration in Putignano is one of the biggest and oldest in Italy. I hadn’t even heard of it until I started to do research for my trip and remembered I would be in Italy for Carnevale.

This one has a long history of using Carnevale for biting political and social comment, mercilessly lampooning the politicians of the day. As you would expect Silvio features strongly.

Among others this year’s parade included floats about BP and the Gulf of Mexico, waste disposal, and the North-South divide in Italy. I’m sure if time permitted they would have had a float on Ghaddafi – apparently Silvio and the Colonel are great mates.

It’s great fun and the whole town gets involved with people filling the streets. There will be another parade in the evening of 8 March after which there will be a huge bonfire with the locals partying long into the night – the last chance for gluttony, lusty sinfulness and mischief making before Lent starts on 9 March

That’s enough from me. Instead check out the video and the slide show and as always double click on the pics for bigger images. This link will take you to the Putignano Carnevale website.