Patronal feasts, festivals, concerts. Stalls along the streets, fantastic illuminations and marching bands criss-crossing the towns. Entertainment and tradition mingle and create unique spectacles. We are talking about the events that liven up the Salento during the summer. The most important and certainly most awaited event is the famous Notte della Taranta. Organised towards the end of August, this festival aims to publicise and promote the musical tradition of Salento with the tried and tested itinerant formula that starts in the town of Corigliano d’Otranto and ends in the concert in Melpignano, hosting nationally and internationally renowned musicians and artists such as Carmen Consoli, Goran Bregovic and Ludovico Einaudi. The event, which now has over 150,000 spectators, features a Maestro Concertatore who will have the task – and the honour – of reinterpreting the great classics of Salento music with originality. The final concert is scheduled to begin at 10.30 p.m., but the dancing starts as early as the afternoon.
One of the most popular festivals is that of Santa Domenica, the patron saint of the municipality of Scorrano. The celebrations last a week, but the Saint’s day is 6 July. At this particular time of year, the village is referred to as the Capital of the Luminarie, as local historical companies and craftsmen compete in the creation of veritable works of light such as arches, casserons and tunnels that can be admired in the historic centre of the small village. Throughout the duration of the religious event, ‘M’illumino di gusto‘ will take place, where food producers will be able to offer their delicacies to the many believers and tourists who flock to the streets adjacent to the Church of Santa Domenica. Here, you cannot fail to taste the typical Pasticciotto, a sweet made by the skilful hands of Salento’s master pastry chefs. Also in July is the Sagra dell’Insalata Grika e della Salsiccia (Grika Salad and Sausage Festival), in the municipality of Martignano, Lecce. Organised by the Pro Loco ‘a. Martano’ of Martignano, the festival focuses on the quality of agricultural products and the rediscovery of local traditions. Protagonists of this culinary event, in addition to the grika salad – prepared with pickled capers, Nardò olives, Morciano tomatoes and meloncella – are Salento sausage, homemade orecchiette, puccia, spumone, ricotta and barley and wheat friselle. If you want to experience the true flavours of the Salento, you can’t miss out! In August, the festivals not to be missed are the Sagra della Sceblasti, a typical Lecce flatbread baked in wood-fired ovens, the Sagra della Puccia, the typical bread of Salento, the Sagra della Pitta culle ulie, in Andrano, the Sagra della Sciuscella, in Patù, and the Sagra te lu Purpu, in Melendugno, in the province of Lecce.
Giving wine its rightful place will be the Castro Wine Fest, an ambitious project aimed at promoting Salento’s excellent wines. The programme of the event, which usually takes place in July, will unfold along the most evocative locations in Castro: from Piazza Perotti to Piazza Vittoria, from the courtyard of the Aragonese Castle to the former Cathedral and the Bishop’s Palace, but some areas adjacent to the Archaeological Park and the Temple of Minerva will also be involved. Around 30 companies will be represented in exclusive locations. The event will be enriched with live music, tastings in the dark, historical workshops, a street reserved for sweet wines and the art of confectionery in general, an astronomical observatory and areas reserved for cooperatives and farms. Summer in Salento will end with the Salento International Film Festival, from 1 to 7 September, in Tricase. This film event supports the dissemination of independent cinema, giving both local and international production companies the opportunity to present their works, whether feature films, shorts or documentaries. Thanks to its quality content, SIFF is considered one of the most important festivals in southern Italy.
