Why I Love Taranto

1. The food:

Easter pastries fresh on Sunday morning:


Arancini, the most amazing fried balls of rice and mozarella:


The pizza...what can I say?


Panzarotti from Pizzeria Ernesto, only 2 Euros...so good, you almost cry:


Easter cookies (yes, that's a boiled egg cooked inside):


Fresh, homemade pasta and tomatoe sauce...mmm....


2. Family connections:
Anna and my birthdays were within a week of each other a few weeks ago, and Anna planned an elaborate lunch at a seaside restaurant to celebrate. We had the entire restaurant to ourselves because they are closed at lunchtime, but because the owner knows Anna and Gianni (they've had family parties there and eat there all the time), he opened it just for us and treated us like royalty. We had the most refined waiter I've ever seen, and we were pampered like I've never been pampered before! I'm not kidding. Here is the feast as it unfolded:

This was the restaurant we had all to ourselves:


At this point, we were still unsuspecting of just how amazing this culinary experience was about to be:


Antipasti (Appetizers) This was the biggest, most grand portion (and often is when eating Italian) of the meal:




2nd Course, Part A:


Yes, a bowl of lemon water to clean our hands after the fish we had to dismember ourselves to eat (that was a YIKES, but all part of the experience):




2nd Course, Part B:


We decided to forego the third course. As you can imagine, during the hour it took to eat the dozen different kinds of antipasti and two substantial "second courses", we were reaching our limits. Here is the lemon sorbet to "clean our palet" before dessert!


The torte. You read it right. It says "Auguri Maley e Anna". That's how they say my name here, "Maley". Cute.


The ritual cutting of the cake by the birthday girls:



3. The Rites:

Easter is a BIG deal in Taranto. They have a massive procession on Friday and Saturday night (actually, through the night) of men dressed like the KKK, well the KKK probably borrowed their outfit from the Taranto rites. They carry statues and walk really slow through the streets. There is a band playing funeral music. It's very, very elaborate and there are lots and lots of people. The churches are all open and you can go in and see the big, fancy Easter decorations.

Inside the main cathedral in the old town. There was a nice priest who spoke some nice words about family and love and then everyone repeated some prayers in Italian. We were allowed to go up in groups.


A cathedral in the old town. This was an hour before the first rites started here.


On Friday night these guys were walking randomly around the city. They are barefoot and I found the details of their outfits VERY interesting, if you know what I mean. Fabio said when he was a little boy they scared him. I can't see why?!


Images from the rites on Friday night:






The Virgin Mary brings up the end of the procession.



4. The old town:

Taranto is OLD. It was a Spartan colony during the Greek golden age. It's on the Bible maps. It has gone through many hands, including the Byzantines and of course, Romans. The old town must be around 1000 years old or more. It is pretty ghetto now as you can imagine, but people still live there, and I find it charming in many ways.



The University of Bari, Taranto Campus:


Doric Pillars. These are pillars from the first Greek period, about 2500 BC.


As you can see, I wasn't the only one who wanted to capture Easter Mass in the old town on film:




Fish/Fruit/Cigarette/Tacky toy Market held in the old town every morning:





5. The beautiful city:

Taranto is definitely old in parts. It is also very poor. However, parts of it are just beautiful.












In conclusion, this trip to Taranto is only my second, but I'm so excited that I will spend my life coming back to visit this wonderful place. We have had good laughs, and despite the language barrier, meaningful conversations. I have come near food comas and taken lots of siestas. I could really get used to this life! Is this why they call it, "La dolce vita?"