Gallipoli, Italy

With planning, you may feel like you stepped back into an old 1950s fishing village.

The ancient city of Gallipoli is a small island split from its modern counterpart by a short 16th-century bridge. Founded by the Greeks and given the name of ‘beautiful city’, Kallipolis, it was subsequently ruled by the Byzantines, the Romans, the Normans, and the Kingdom of Naples among others. It is one of the few towns in the Salento region where the Greek dialect, Griko is still spoken among the locals.

In early April, the old town has the feel of a Sophia Loren movie, languid and relaxed. The locals are out enjoying the early spring weather, sprucing up the town before the summer onslaught of tourists. Gallipoli is still a fishing community, but tourism is the main industry. Many of the apartments are used for short-term rentals and many of the shops are geared toward the tourist trade.

There is a charm however to Gallipoli that may only show itself in the slow off-season. The old Italian men sitting on the bench overlooking the water gossiping; Nonna, adorned in her widow black, hanging out of a top floor window watching the world go by; the chef/owner coming out of the kitchen to talk to his customers and neighbors. These perhaps are rare sights when the summer tour groups and buses come to town and the narrow streets are packed with visitors.

Gallipoli can easily be seen in just a few hours but the ancient walls and the blue Ionian Sea call for you to linger. At the entrance of Gallipoli is the Angevine-Aragonese Castle, or Castello Gallipoli, built in the 13th century by the Byzantines. The remainder of the town rises above the protective walls in a maze of cobblestones and courtyards. Many of the restaurants and bars are on the one-way road circling the island. Seafood is king here and Gallipoli is brimming with exceptional restaurants to showcase the fresh catch from the local fishermen.

Gallipoli has its fair share of churches with the Cathedral of Sant’Agata being the most famous and most ornate. It is easy to duck into many of the smaller churches to admire their simplicity and beauty. A few are in disrepair and closed to visitors, but their exteriors are splendid all the same.

In the weeks leading up to Easter, a Salento tradition born out of its pagan past is evident with the ‘Quarantana’ hanging in the streets of Gallipoli. The Quarantana, an old ugly woman dressed in black, is hung at the end of Carnival to mark the beginning of Lent. She is typically shown with a spindle for spinning wool in her right hand to symbolize the passage of time, and an orange at her feet to symbolize the coming spring. Seven feathers are stuck into the orange to represent the seven weeks of Lent and with each passing week, a feather is removed. On Easter Sunday, she is burned to represent the Resurrection.

Gallipoli is high on my list to return to for a few days. I am looking forward to staying within the city walls and enjoying an aperitif while watching the sunset over the sea. It is the perfect base for exploring the Salento region, the area’s beaches, and the fresh seafood. I will be back in spring or perhaps autumn to fully appreciate the illusion of stumbling upon an old Italian fishing village.