You wouldn’t describe our feelings leaving Bologna for Lecce as trepidatious – this implies some anxiety or concern, none of which is justified when travelling in Italy, as you’re only ever leaving one extraordinarily beautiful, cultured, gastronomic delight for another. And so it was upon arriving in Lecce, some seven hours after leaving Bologna.

Lecce is an undeniably gorgeous city – dare I say more immediately, visually appealing than Bologna? I think I dare say it. Certainly a different vibe – its ‘southernness’ apparent at every turn, in every cobblestone, every crumbling sandstone, every chipped and worn granite slab. It’s often referred to as the ‘Florence of the south’ – while I can see that someone is trying to highlight its baroque glory, it’s doing both cities a disservice. Lecce is Lecce, nothing quite like anywhere I’ve ever been (albeit with a gentle nod to my distant memories of Sicily).

The BIG excitement, however, lay in waiting at our apartment – Xavier and Ulee, fresh off the boat from Albania, replete with gifts of home-brewed rakia and wine, and home-stewed figs. A great delight to see them both. And so our Puglian holiday did begin!