Festa di San Nicola, Piazza San Nicola, Bari (7th to 9th)
Bari is the resting place of the bones of San Nicola (Saint Nicholas), the real life Father Christmas. The bones of San Nicola were brought to Bari from Turkey in the 11th century and now rest in the church of San Nicola di Bari. Parades, sea processions, fireworks and music celebrate the saint's day on 9th May in the Piazza San Nocola and also on the streets, squares and harbour. The main event usually starts at 18:00 with the landing of the relics, the procession then leaves the Swabian Castle at 20:00 arriving at 21:00 at the Basilicta.
Festa di San Cataldo, Taranto (8th to 10th)
Taranto celebrates it's patron saint, San Cataldo, a fifth century Irish monarch who was elected Bishop of the city during a trip to the Holy Land. On 8th May, in the evening, the silver statue of the saint is taken from the cathedral in the old town to a ship in the Mar Grande. The ship is surrounded by many boats, large and small, waiting to escort the statue of the saint. Fireworks and sirens great the effigy as the sea procession moves to Mar Piccolo, where there is a symbolic blessing of the city and the effigy is returned to the old city.
On 9th May, in eight locations throughout the city - including the Catherdral Yard de Tullio, Monteoliveto Square, Piazza Castello, the hall of the Archbishop, Galeota Palace and the Cloisters of Santa Chiara - there are singing and folk performances, gastronomic stalls, recreational and artisic exhibitions. Finally on the evening of 10th May, the festivities end with the procession of the statue of the saint on a big wagon decorated with flowers thorugh the alleys of the old town.
Second/Third week of May - Sannicola : The rites of spring in 'Lu Mascui'
'Lu mascui' means May. This outdoor celebration is held near Sannicola, on Gallipoli's northern coast. It is usually celebrated during the second or third week of May, but ask for further information in the town. This festa comes from an ancient tradition. It is a big spring festival held to wish for fertility and wealth as well as to make romantic love promises. Young men and women, dressed in 15th century clothes, and sitting in horse-drawn carriages, decorated with flowers and fruit, meet in the town's square, exchanging flowers, fresh fruit and promises of eternal love. After this, the picturesque procession carries on, with flag throwers, street performers and musicians. Everybody walks towards the final destination, the Serra of San Mauro. The plateau is named afer a small Basilian Abbey, recently restored by Sannicola, where once monks used to hold a fair on Saint Mauro's day.
When the procession arrives at Serra of San Mauro, music is played, the dancing starts and there is a food sagra as well. You can get to the Serra of San Mauro from the Gallipoli - Lido Conchiglie coast road, turing inland towards Sannicola.
End May - Lecce : Cortili Aperti
The Lecce open courtyards scheme in Puglia has been running for more than 15 years now and each year open courtyards (gardens) are combined with cultural events such as live classical concerts in the courtyards and churches. Check with the Tourist Information offices or on the internet for the actual dates, normally the last week in May.
Kate Weinberg visited Lecce in May 2009 and wrote in the Daily Telegraph :
"Turns out, our visit to Lecce had also coincided with the day cortili aperti, one Sunday a year when dozens of private courtyards in the old city are made open to the public.
As we followed the crowds I realised that here was Lecce's real flower show. Rather than contrived poesies wilting on plinths, the courtyards were a miracle of gardening in small, urban spaces: long beards of purple clematis dangled from wrough iron balconies, glossy ivy carpeted the honey-coloured walls and bundles of tiny starlike jasmine twisted up columns. In one of the larger courtyards the fruit on tall orange trees clashed beautifully with tumbling pink and red geraniums. In another, slender ivory arum lilies were the only contrasting colour in an otherwise austerely evergreen space.
As we visited courtyards each more exquisite than the next, I became incensed that something like this was not doen in England. Surely the best way to encourage pride and delight in gardens is to allow the best of them to be open to general appreciation and nosiness once a year? Why were we so uptight that we couldn't be more like the Italians, who let their children trample through flowers in a life-affirming Mediterranean manner and then threw open their courtyards to the public?"
