By Sheila Sobell
Call me Harry Potter. Like the wizard-in-training searching for platform 9 3/4 to travel to Hogwarts, we were in the subterranean depths of the Bari train station looking for platform 11. "Not signposted," the ticket agent had warned. "Just look for the first turning on the right after platform 10."
Though trying to locate the mysterious platform 11 might seem like a page out of a novel, the experience of booking our travel online with RailEurope and exploring Puglia by train exceeded our expectations. With their network of 50 different train companies across Europe, we were able to plan journeys to several cities using various lines, reserve seats, and compare routes and fares by class. Our entire train travel cost less in expense and stress than renting a car.
Best of all, we didn't have to drive. The standing joke when we lived in Italy was that the state paid for your funeral if you were killed in a crosswalk in Rome. In Milan cars looked for parking space on sidewalks.
Inspired, we took our Berlitz phrase book and left the driving to the train's engineers.
The first surprise was the train's efficiency. For example, Trenitalia, the high-speed line, was punctual, modern and sparkling clean across all classes from economy to comfort to premier. Prebooking seats on regional and high-speed trains was easy, although not possible on locale trains. On some lines tickets, once purchased, must be stamped by a machine before boarding.
While locale trains often don't have a route map posted, regional and high-speed lines have announcements in English. Most stations don't have elevators connecting to platforms, so transporting heavy luggage can be painful. In major hubs, RailEurope's bilingual customer agents can literally and figuratively get passengers on the right track. For disabled passengers, agents can seamlessly book mobility and luggage transfers across long journeys.
Our first stop was Alberobello, the UNESCO World Heritage Site. From platform 11 in Bari we boarded the Ferrovie del Sud Est. The landscape from Bari was punctuated with olive trees and vineyards; then gradually the flat terrain began to sprout conical-shaped homes, the distinctive architectural signature of trulli dating back to the 14th century. Since there are no announcements in English or route diagrams posted, we asked directions from another passenger. The stop before is Noci.
We arrived late. Because the FSE operates on a single track and must therefore wait at stations for the train going in the opposite direction to pass, journeys are invariably slow. The posted train schedule should therefore be treated as aspirational.
The city center is a short walk from the station. Though trulli look like dollhouses for gnomes, these tiny whitewashed one-room homes were actually built for farmers beginning in the 14th century. They were constructed without cement by what almost seems like a magic sleight of hand, balancing each indigenous flat stone (chiancole) against the other to form a soaring pyramid-shaped roof. Without mortar these easy- to -erect structures were equally easy to dismantle, a prerequisite for crafty 16th-century feudal landlords eager to skirt regulations that imposed taxes on new developments. The first documented trulli were used as prehistoric tombs.
Only the Trullo Sovano, one of the existing 1,500 trulli, has two floors. Built by a prosperous priest, the house can be visited for a small entrance fee. Well-written storyboards document the remarkable history of its original furniture and fittings. Another museum, the Museo del Territorio, is well worth a visit because of its self-guided audio. Many of the other trulli have been converted into shops, offices or tourist accommodations.
On day two we took a 25-mile west-northwest trip on a locale train from Bari to Trani. We fell in love with this quintessential picture-postcard Mediterranean seaport and its intriguing past. The ancient Jewish quarter is home to the Scolanova, the oldest synagogue in Europe. Recently completed reconstruction means tours are now available.
Like most medieval ports, Trani has an impressive 13th-century fort, now beautifully restored to house a small pottery museum and space for performances, a striking Romanesque cathedral and a Gothic Palace of the Doges of Venice. But its allure for us was the seafront and its rows of restaurants with outdoor seating where the spectacular views competed with culinary temptation. It was easy to lose our way among the meticulously maintained elegant historic homes and artisan workshops that populate the puzzle of alleys that twist and turn from the sea.
On the third day we whizzed along on Frecciargento's high-speed train to Lecce. The capital of Puglia's Salento region, Lecce has become an emerging destination for more adventurous travelers who have "done" Northern Italy 101 and are ready to be more experimental. Even though we spoke Italian, the visit was challenging as few people speak English, even in hospitals and pharmacies. We found it helpful to stay in a B&B with a bilingual innkeeper.
Lecce is distinctive for two main reasons - highly decorated architecture (barocco Leccese) and the tradition of creating religious figures for ceremonial purposes from papier-mache, a technique now applied to the production of small figurines and jewelry.
Fortified during the 15th and 16th centuries against invaders, three of the four original gates into this once-walled city still stand. The grand Arch of Triumph, or Porta Napoli, leads into the most compelling part of the city, the historic old town, which has earned Lecce a reputation as the "Florence of the south." Its 100 churches, 11 theaters and elegant mansions are gloriously embellished in barocco Leccese with little putti, architectural flourishes of gargoyles, cherubs, coats of arms, fruit and flora. To the city's disgrace, it has allowed graffiti to distract from the magnificence.
There are archaeological surprises everywhere in this compact pedestrianized quarter - a Roman amphitheater dating from the first century; the Basilica of Santa Croce, famous for its ecstasy of ornamentation - eagles, dragons, saints, curls and decorative waterfall; and the Byzantine-styled church of San Nicoli dei Greci, where the local Greek-speaking population worship.
Lecce's complexity and proximity to the seaside, green space and fascinating nearby towns makes it a destination rather than a day trip. It's an excellent base to study Italian, master the art of Puglianese cooking, savor local wines and become immersed in the art and architecture of Salento.
WHEN YOU GO
Visit RailEurope (www.raileurope.com) to book train tickets.
A service that provides assistance at the major rail stations in Italy — Rome, Florence, Milan, Naples and Venice — will be starting soon. Called Meet and Greet Italy (www.meetandgreetitaly.com), this new company will offer portage and onsite assistance at key Italian railway stations.
Plan your Puglia holiday at www.italiantourism.com, where you can find the phone numbers of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Toronto offices.
We stayed at La Bella Lecce (www.labellalecce.it) and toured with Marco Ferriero's Slow Active Tours: www.slowactivetours.com.
Sheila Sobell and Richard N. Every are freelance travel photojournalists. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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