Galatina

The Basilica of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria is the most representative monument of the town and above all of its history. It owes its current appearance to the presence of Franciscan inquisitor monks here, installed by Raimondello Orsini del Balzo, the local lord. The interior of the church is a marvel of International Gothic that recalls, in some ways, the upper basilica of Assisi, through whose study much becomes clear about both the history of Galatina and the arrival of the Roman Catholic rite. It is one of those places where you walk in expecting one thing and find something completely different.

Here, more than anywhere else in Salento, the memory of tarantism has remained alive: the complex system of beliefs, music, dance and popular devotion associated with the figure of Saint Paul and the symbolic bite of the tarantula. Today this world should not be read as mere postcard folklore. It is part of the cultural identity of the city and you can still sense it walking through the Chapel of San Paolo, Piazza San Pietro and the streets of the centre. Legend has it that Saint Paul, landing in Salento and arriving in Galatina, was hosted by three sisters, to whom in exchange for their hospitality he gave the power to heal from the bite of venomous animals. Now elderly, the last of the three sisters, so as not to disperse this power, spat into the water of a well. From that well, still present today in the small Chapel of San Paolo, the entire history of Salentine tarantism unfolds. The liberation ritual from the spider's bite began in the homes of the unfortunate women, where, to the relentless beat of tambourines, they let themselves go in a frenzied and convulsive dance. It was medicine, it was theatre, it was exorcism. It was the way a community processed pain, malaise and social marginality through music and the body. The Municipality of Galatina has embarked on an articulate journey to obtain recognition of tarantism as an intangible cultural heritage protected by UNESCO. A recognition that would come as no surprise: few cultural phenomena of the South are so layered, so deeply rooted, so capable of crossing the centuries and landing in the present without losing their force.

A stop at Pasticceria Ascalone to taste the original pasticciotto is not to be missed. This historic Salentine pastry is made and sold throughout Salento, but it was invented in this very pastry shop. Here you can taste the pasticciotto made with the original recipe, handed down from generation to generation. This detail is worth the trip on its own. Eating a pasticciotto in Galatina, in the pastry shop where it was born, is the kind of experience that The Begin would call luxury. The real kind.