SALENTO BY 5 is an informative book about Salento, a region at the southern tip of Puglia, in the heel of Italy’s boot. The book is written (in English) by five authors: three Salentinians and two travelers from California who have been visiting the area for many years. The Italian contributors are each teachers of English-related subjects in Italian high schools and each brings his or her own singular voice to their writing.
Together, the five authors introduce themselves and write about Salento and why they love the area. The Italians also write about their family history, the land, the distinctive pizzica music and, of course, the traditional food of the area. Although the book contains various tips for travelers to Salento, it is primarily a Travel Memoir and Salento Love Fest. Sixty-one drawings and sketches in the book are contributed by one of the authors and colorfully depict the sea, the ancient towns, the olive trees, and more.
The authors’ stories and descriptions are each from a different perspective—on the book’s cover, they identify themselves as The Traveler, The Raconteur, The Music Maker, The Sketcher, and The Cook—and each offers the reader a more insightful picture of Salento than is typical of the usual travel guide. Dr. Vincent Fausone, former President of the Board of San Francisco’s Italian Museum observes, ‘Each contributor reveals his/her personal and family history, blemishes and all. . . . What particularly strikes me is that the inhabitants, representative of the peasant class (contadini), were able after World War II to attend institutions of higher learning, thus entering the middle class, an economic and social status previously denied to them.
Being of Northern Italian heritage, I am also struck by the uniqueness all Italians share as revealed in this book. Their values, their superstitions, their faith and most of all their passionate love of family, the land and its bounty are something that everyone who is not Italian recognizes as defining attributes of Italians, be they from the Alps or the heel of the Peninsula.
I highly recommend this delightful book of personal stories, recipes and descriptions of enchanting vistas.’
Table of Content
Chapter one: Audrey
The Traveler 4
Friends, Food, and Wine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Recipe: Lucia’s Frittata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
getting Personal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Recipe: Peppered Mussels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
swimming in Blue seas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
In Luciana’s garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Pizza with Valentina and Pippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Recipe: Valentina’s Pizza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Chapter Two: Luciana
The Raconteur 53
grandfather Cosimo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Recipe: hot Bread and greens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
stains on the Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Recipe: Fava Beans with Bitter greens . . . . . . . 72
our Liquid gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Recipe: Netta’s Beet salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
grandfather Vincenzo and his Wife . . . . . . . . . 82
Aunt Anita: Embroidering a Life . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter Three: David
The Sketcher. 89
Lecce. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Otranto Wall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Santa Caterina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Rocky, windswept coast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Antico Bar Centrale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Scooter, beach, and cathedral. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
Medusa, Piaggio Ape, and our terrace. . . . . . . . .96
Otranto street scene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Cement boat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Mancaversa by the sea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Carlo and Lucia’s summer house. . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Luciana’s garden house . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Secolare (100+ year-old olive tree). . . . . . . . . . . .99
Chapter Four: Carlo
The Music Maker . 100
Bluesalento: Salento Blues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
A Day on the Rocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Recipe: Octopus Cooked in a Terra-cotta Pot.123
Tavianesi versus Racalini. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
The Saints Come Marching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
Jewels: L’Acchiatura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Recipe: Potato and Mussel Casserole. . . . . . . . .132
Chapter Five: Lucia
The Cook. 135
Bread and Olive Oil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
Recipe: Land and Sea Tagliolini. . . . . . . . . . . . .144
Easter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Saint Joseph’s Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Recipe: Chickpeas and Pasta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Christmas Sweets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
Recipe: Pudding Cake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
Epilogue: Back and Forth in Memory, Audrey
Fielding, editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Index of Author Recommendations. . . . . . . .162
About the author
Carlo Longo is and Italian resident of the town of Taviano in Salento, Italy.. He is an actor and musician and a retired high school American Literature teacher. For a number of years he has been an actor in community drama productions and the lead singer, songwriter and musician for his band in Salento, Bluesalento. As The Music Maker for the book, Salento by 5, Carlo discovers the roots of his band’s music in the stone-filled ancient fields where peasants toiled and called to one another.More ebooks from the same author(s) / Editor
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