The art and craft of pottery, 2,300 years ago

I'm catching up with posts after being on trains and off the internet for a couple days.

I know very little about pottery and less about art history but I was awed by the pottery collection at the provincial archaeological museum in Lecce, Italy three days ago. Two things impressed me about the two thousand year old ceramics - the large size of some of the pieces and the applied artwork. The ones I liked most had paintings inspired by nature and human form. Since my knowledge is so deficient, I'll just post some photos and dates.

Museo Provinciale, Lecce - Free admission

From the 4th or 3rd century B.C.
Looking closely at the brush strokes it's clear much of the colour has faded. See next photo.

You can see the old brush strokes.  That's some kind of bird in the middle surrounded by flowers perhaps.
Imagine what it looked like before the colours faded! 

More colour survives in these pieces from the 5th century B.C. 

This piece from the 4th century B.C. was at least 60 cm high! 

Detail on previous piece

That's enough before I get carried away! Maybe some of my potting friends can enlighten me later.

Most tourists don't go grocery shopping

I'm now in a little hotel in the city of Lecce for a few days, in the heel of Italy's boot.  It's a beautiful city with a large historic centre, including a partially exposed Roman amphitheatre.

After being treated to a large going away dinner on my last night with my Workaway hosts in Ostuni, I thought I'd buy groceries and eat in my hotel room for a change. It's not much fun eating alone in a restaurant and this would be cheaper. It's also a "mini adventure" buying groceries with the locals. This was a self-serve market so that was fine. However, I did have to ask for lasagna in the deli (the smallest pre-measured size was 500 grams) and I had to figure out what to do with my bulk oranges. Here, you have to put them on a digital scale, punch in their code and push a button to get the price sticker. Not complicated but it is a little puzzle to figure out and it's fun to shop like you're a local.

This will be almost all the food I need for two days!

Lasagna and red wine (on sale) were from the deli

Weighing and stickering the oranges

Italians are not famous for their healthy breakfasts!

Cheese, yogurt, lasagna, arugula, whole grain snacks, oranges, and red wine - 20 Euros

Finished working and eating in Ostuni

I helped my hosts with a few different projects here in Ostuni but it's nice to accomplish a single big task from start to finish before saying goodbye. Firewood has been been a recurring theme with my previous Workaway and Helpx gigs and that was the case here. You might not immediately think of needing a lot of firewood in southern Italy but with high electricity and propane prices, wood burning stoves are the only reasonable option. The stone houses don't help and it's colder here than I expected. I have worked outside in my t-shirt only twice ;-)

Peter and Sareeta had two loads of wood delivered, mostly olive and all green. Judging by the second load, which had been weighed before delivery, the pile in the photo is 50 quintali or 5 metric tons! It was nearly twice the volume before I moved and stacked it. I estimate it's about 2-1/2 cords. There's another 3/4 cord tucked away in other places and Peter says they'll need even more for next winter!

My main job in Ostuni, in return for room, board, and new friends

They took me out to a trattoria in Carovigno for special treat of antipasti last night. There were a total of at least 10 plates of delicious things brought to the table over a period of about an hour and a half, mostly seafood. A large number of small things makes a large amount!

Sareeta and Peter enjoying the first few antipasti last night

Out with the old Persian Year

One of the best things about volunteering with Workaway far from home is that you sometimes get to tag along to unusual events. My hosts here in Ostuni, were invited to a Persian New Year's celebration and I got to come.

Persian New Year occurs at the Spring equinox but they celebrate the outgoing old year on the preceding Tuesday. I had little opportunity to learn interesting cultural details about the event but we were fed unusual and delicious finger food and then went outside for the lighting of fires. Three small fires were lit for jumping like hurdles! It was fun but difficult to photograph.

Three fires being readied for jumping 

Successful leap by Sareeta

Me with other guests, my Workaway hosts and our hosts for Persian New Year by the bonfire

First call on my first mobile phone!

I was rather pleased with my first call on my "new" mobile phone yesterday.

I bought a refurbished, unlocked iPhone 3 for this trip, figuring it would be useful as a standalone GPS at the very least. At just over $100 it HAS been worth it for that alone, combined with MotionX downloadable maps. However, while in Naples, I also bought a pay-as-you-go SIM card at Vodafone for 20 Euros.

After spending the weekend in the beautiful little town of Ostuni, I checked out of my guest house and was on the street with my bag at 10:00 Sunday morning. I had until 4:00 in the afternoon before I was going to be picked up by my Workaway hosts but my host at the guest house said I could leave my bag at the tourist info office (Informazioni Turistiche) at the main piazza because they would be open at 10:00. Sounded easy.

In fact, the tourist office WASN'T open, but then it hadn't been open on Saturday either.

What to do? I didn't want to lug my bag around Ostuni all day so I worked up my nerve and made my first call with my first cell phone. A man answered "pronto" and I managed to tell him with beginner's Italian that I would like to leave a bag at the tourist office until 3:30. He came a half hour later, locked up my bag, and I saw more sights in Ostuni until he showed up promptly at 3:30!

Tourist Information office in Ostuni, Italy

In Ostuni, Italy for the weekend

If the boot of Italy had a long spiked heel, Ostuni is right where that heel would break off, giving the rest of the continent a limp.

It's closer to Albania than Rome in a straight line across the Adriatic Sea. It's even closer to Greece which explains the origin of its name, according to Wikipedia, and the fact that it looks a bit like a land-locked Santorini. It's been through a number of sackings and rebuildings and its old section (Centro Storico) has a lovely remodelled fortress look to it.

I can recommend a visit although it's apparently very crowded in the summer. It's lovely weather now although not quite as warm as I expected.

This "street" with my B&B has a name but it's not posted on any walls.  

Ostuni

Vendors at Ostuni's Saturday market 

1980 earthquake damage

In November 1980 there was a major earthquake in southern Italy which killed 2,914 people. Dozens of buildings were destroyed in Naples but many more were damaged. Sadly, billions in aid from the U.S. and Germany were not used for the intended purposes.

The cracked walls and ceilings of this apartment building in the Spanish Quarter have been reinforced with timbers since just after the earthquake - nearly 35 years.

Perfect start to visiting Naples

I arrived late Friday afternoon thanks to four successful flights to Vancouver, Toronto, Rome, and Naples. Even my checked bag made it, to my delight and a little surprise. I won't even complain about Westjet (YVR to TOR) since everything turned out well in the end. However, I will say that if you have the slightest doubt about a flight, arrive at the airport as early as possible.

With all belongings in hand, I bought a bus ticket at the Naples airport tobacco shop, rode the bus to Piazza Garibaldi and navigated a few blocks to Robby's House B&B (simple, cheap, and well reviewed in Trip Advisor). This seems to be a great location as a base for exploring the city but the only exploring I did on my first night was to find a little trattoria where I had pasta puttanesca and a glass of red wine. They were as good as they look!