Puglia with the Tampone family

Saturday morning we had an early breakfast – Gianni and Lucia saw to that and also saw us off at about 8 am as we headed back to the mainland. We zipped right through Palermo this time – no stop and start with traffic snarls around the city like when we first arrived - and were also pleasantly surprised that we did not have to get off the A20 near Cefalu. Apparently only the westbound lanes are closed and we sped along, tunnel to bridge to tunnel to bridge. This is truly a remarkable feat of engineering the A20, perched hundreds of feet in the air. We got to Messina, crossed the straits on a ferry (Bluvia line this time) and we were on the A3 in Calabria by noon.

The autostrada in southern Italy, particularly in Calabria is in sore need of repair and while there is some effort in that direction one must be fully aware that there are large stretches where it’s only two lane.

In any case, after about 850 kms we got to Cerignola around 6 pm and had arranged by phone to meet Luisa and her father at the exit off the autostrada. We followed them to their home inside the city and were soon sitting at their dining room table having a delicious bowl of soup. We sat up with them for a bit but we eventually had to get some sleep and were unable to stay up for their dinner meal (around 10 pm).

After a great night’s rest the next day Susan, I, Luisa and her sister Angela (who we finally got to meet she having been away at school last year when we visited) headed to Stornara to see Vito who was working in his garden at the old WW2 airfield. It was a beautiful day as the four of us drove out into the countryside – and it was certainly a much nicer day than the first time Vito showed us around his garden (March of 2004). Trees were blooming, wildflowers were everywhere – indeed wildflowers seemed to be everywhere in Italy generally.

We spent the morning with Vito and after lunch back at the Tampone house in Cerignola we took a well-earned nap. Later in the evening Susan, Angela, Luisa and I drove to nearby San Ferdinando to pickup up Elio, Luisa’s fiancé and the five of us drove to Trani for our evening passegiata. The small coastal city of Trani is a must-see for anyone visiting Puglia. It has history in spades, including a marvelous Spanish castle and gorgeous Norman church right at the water’s edge, plus it is a lively town with plenty of small shops, and cool eateries right at the water’s edge.

After gelato we finished our stroll and headed back to Cerignola for supper.

Monday, the 25th of April is one of Italy’s national holidays, their day of liberation at the end of the Second World War – it happened to coincide with my birthday which was convenient and well-planned on somebody’s part. We had a great meal in the afternoon and the Tampone’s gave each one of us a gift. They couldn’t have known of course that it was their generosity and hospitality that was the best gift we could have been given. But their kindness continued on through the day and we had a grand time with Vito coming into town for dinner and for the afternoon nap as well.

That evening we said goodbye to Vito and Cinzia – they were heading back out to Stornara and since we would be leaving early in the morning for northern Italy we wouldn’t get a chance to see them before we left. Like Rosa and Peppino and their children, Luisa, Angela and Antonio, Vito has shown us kindness and generosity (two words that seem to be a recurring theme in the Tampone household). We hope to see them again soon.

We said our goodbyes to everyone else Tuesday morning and loaded the car up with all the great food Rosa had sent with us (Vito’s olives, homemade olive oil, tons of pasta, sun-dried tomatoes) and by 8 am were on the autostrada. The day was beautiful and traffic light. We seemed to zip right along until we got near Bologna when snarls held us up for a bit but we were back up to speed (Mach 2) and at last we reached our exit at Sirmione, on the southern shore of Lake Garda and just a few kms from our next stop, a week at the agriturismo Le Sorgive in Solferino.

Vito reminding me to "take it easy"!

Elio and Luisa in Trani