Don't imagine.
Live it.
A glistening azure sea in vivid turquoise and aquamarine shades ringed by porous limestone rock and pebbled bays. This sums up much of the coastline of Castro, a small village located at the "heel of Italy". This is the region of Puglia, a less touristy destination than Amalfi, but still offering Italy's hidden swimming coves and meandering whitewashed hill towns. Summer time is "dolce vita" time with tanned bodies in bikinis and swim shorts. Alas, I didn't come prepared to swim in the Adriatic sea as my visit was only but 5 days.
Nonetheless, the sight of the Adriatic sea being the bluest of all seas, primarily due to its rocky, low-nutrient coastlines and physical properties of waters (lacks the high amount of plankton and sediment, making sunlight penetrate deeper into the depths resulting in such deep blue hue), is enough to make me want to return! Italians have a deeply rooted, cultural love of the sea (il mare) and understandably with over 7,600 km of coastline, the ocean is embedded in their lifestyle, cuisine and identity. The great summer migration is when Italians flock to coastal destinations like Puglia, Sardinia and the Amalfi coast, to escape the summer heat inland. Unhurried, unfettered and unbashful, Italians sip Spritz and enjoy fresh seafood all summer long. Financial crisis? Whoever heard of anything like that?
We were in Castro in June at the invitation of a good friend. Her three storey apartment is set into the rocky hills overlooking the sea. How grand is it to gaze into the horizon? Her garden overflows with lemon trees, fig trees and lavander. She makes the best lemon-marmalade, limoncello and lemon curd, I have ever tasted. From her, I've been converted to only eat the best produce of the land: the olive oil comes from a private estate, so does the ricotta and ewe-milk yoghurt.
You have the sense that you're not alone in Castro as this area holds footprints of Messapian and Greek origins. Originally inhabited by the Messapians, Castro later became the ancient Roman town of Castrum (Castle) Minervae. According Virgil's Aeneid, Castro was the legendary first place where Aeneas landed in Italy after fleeing Troy. The Temple of Minerva (Athena) is under archeological excavations right now and who knows how much more will be unearthed? In the Middle Ages, due to its strategic cliffside position overlooking the Adriatic Sea, Castro was continually under attacks by Vandals, Goths, Lombards and Saracen pirates. Small wonder that the villagers look at tourists in a rather misgiving way!
I am amazed at the number of Catholic churches and how tightly the people upheld religion. Most churches have their patron saint and some even have relics of dead saints. Visits to churches required women to cover their exposed shoulders and knees, which is a respectable ask.
Polpo (Octopus) is a common food in the Mediterranean diet. In Italy dishes like Insalata di Polpo (Octopus salad) and grilled Polpo do not raise eyebrows. I went with the flow and had the grilled polpo, much to the dismay of my friend. She later told me how intelligent these creatures are and she would not eat them. I read up more about the Octopus and indeed this cephalopod is so smart, eating them is akin to eating one's pet dog... which made me think of the poor folks in Springfield... So ok, I will just stick to shellfish, next time.
I throughly enjoyed my stay and vow to come back again, this time with my bikinis. 👙
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