Thursday, August 23, 2018

Notte Verde: Acqua e Sale 2018

Cisternino, Puglia, Italy. Saturday / Sunday 18 / 19-August-2018.

Another festival. As it says on the poster: Music, Culture, Gastronomy. Two nights to wander the streets of Cisternino and soak up the atmosphere.


Our street, Corso Umberto I, was dedicated to craft stalls. From Piazza Marconi up Via Manzoni it was the turn of the food stalls including a demonstration of passata making and local organic produce of all kinds.


As Via Manzoni segues into Via San Quirico we came across a local artisanal beer stall by Birrificio Birranova so we had to try their range. The Myra was my favourite, dark and sweet, brewing using mosta di primitivo (leftover must from wine making).


We took our beer up to the Ponte - the raised section of via San Quirico - found some plastic chairs from the earlier cultural talk and sat to oversee the scene and listen to the music.


The live music was Arheref Chargui Trio, a French-Italian-Tunisian group comprising drums, bass and oud. You could tell the drummer was the Italian - he was wearing a scarf, presumeably to protect his neck from draughts. A very North African sound, you could almost be in the Mahgreb. We bought their first CD rather than the second because I think first albums always have something fresh and special and avoid the Second Album Syndrome.


The next night it was a case of "rinse and repeat" with an intervening lunchtime Aperitivo Classico, lunch and siesta.


We strolled around with artisanal beer in hand then went to Chirico Bistrot for a cocktail whilst listening to the DJ set.


And so to bed after the witching hour.

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