May is the perfect month for enjoy the beauty of Salento, to fully experience the colors, scents, flavors and charm of this land between two seas. Ideal for an escape between ancient palaces and baroque treasures, secular olive trees and masterpieces of art, tastings, themed dinners, cultural events and musical exhibitions. Nothing is missing at all May Salentino Maysalentino.it. The carnit is dense and varied, with a rich offer of appointments concentrated especially on weekends.
You can go trekking in protected natural areas, like Le Cesine or climb on a historical train and visit Otranto and its surroundings; cycle-excursions among olive trees, discover the many villages and castles rich in art, such as Carlo V in Lecce; the noble residences in Sternatia (Palazzo Granafei) and Arnesano (Palazzo Marchesale) and the Ortobotanico di Lecce. It will be interesting to stop in Artisan workshops and follow the free courses of handicrafts "Alla Mano" in the former Teatini convent from May 22 to 25 to learn the sculpture in polished stone, the carving of olive wood, the processing of papier-mâché and the interweaving of the joints.
You will be welcomed in ancient cellars: in Salice Salentino from Leone De Castris, in Scorrano from Azienda Agraria Duca Carlo Guarini, Galatina da Valle dell’Asso and Depressa da Castel di Salve. They will take walks Park Secular Oils and Monumental, with stop at the Frantoio Ipogeo of 1660 and the modern Frantoio of the Cazzetta farm.
And then you can experience the Salento cuisine, choosing and enjoying simple and yet rich dishes of memory and ancient traditions Daily Taste Museum by San Cesario di Lecce, which offers sentimental dinners by Titti Pece. These are convivial tables, with themed menus and selection of excellent products of the territory, which offer the opportunity for original experiential paths in which the kitchen is the guiding thread of narratives, literary excursions and historical paths.
On May 10th there is the 19th century dinner with the dishes of the Monastery of the Benedictine Sisters of St. John; on 17 the pitagoric dinner inspired by the 18th century volume "Il cibo pitagorico" by Vincenzo Corrado, cook native to the Salento and educator at the Neapolitan noble courts at the time of the Bourbons; on May 24 the Salento table and the quotation of the "mad roota Benedetto Cavalieri" in the film "Mine vaganti" by Ferzan Ozpetek.
From 8 to 29 May, every Thursday to 19, there are the appointments of Cinegastronaut, film festival set in Salento with cinemas/aperitif (www.ilcinegastronauta.it). And on 31 May appointment in Otranto in Masseria Panareo for an artist’s dinner, as part of the exhibition Panareo Art Project, with German food designer Ines Lauber to enjoy atmospheres, decorations and flavors related to contemporary art. Guests will be surrounded by the magic of its installation, immersing themselves in the unique atmosphere of a culinary operation, which has no priors in Salento.
