Welcome to San Cataldo

When we left Montagano we headed to Barletta, which is about halfway between where we were coming from and where we were going to, namely, the beach town of San Cataldo.

Italy's historic coastal towns all seem to have invested heavily in fortifications. Barletta has a gigantic citadel that's now surrounded by a public park, where everyone does their evening passegiatta. Including, for that one evening, us.

Barletta is on the southern end of Italy's Adriatic coast, at about where the ankle strap would hit, just above the heel.





San Cataldo, where we are now, is well down on the heel proper. It's a modern suburb of the venerable town of Lecce, a bit northwest of it and right on the water.

The next day, Monday, June 26, we arrived in San Cataldo and took possession of our rental, a little semi-detached house that's about 10 minutes by foot to the beach. But our walk to the beach was a bit disheartening.

First of all, San Cataldo, like much of Southern Italy, is awash in garbage. People live behind walls, and evidently don't have many compunctions about tossing bottles, wrappers, and construction waste pretty much anywhere, as long as it's not inside their own compound. Here's the street outside our house.

The weather conspired against San Cataldo, too. We expected hot and dry, but for the first several days here the temperature was in the mid- to high 90s, stifling in the shade and punishing in the sun. I gather this is what it's often like in August, but it was unseasonably hot for June.

The beach itself didn't inspire instant love, either. Parts of the shoreline are pretty, and the water is a lovely blue-green.

But there are no waves to speak of, and the water is warm, full of plant life, and kiddie-pool shallow unless you walk very far out. During our first overheated week here the sea air didn't offer much relief; the breeze coming off the water felt almost as hot and dry as the wind from inland.

Moreover, the beach is ringed by the same trash that washes up on the roadside. And of course some of it gets into the water, too.

Meanwhile, much of the beach seems to be landfill, or perhaps a dumping ground for construction waste from all the building that's been going on around here, much of it left uncompleted.

In sum, San Cataldo and I did not get off to a great start.