Gallipoli, Puglia, Italy. Friday/Sunday 09/11-October-2026.
It used to be that Salento parkrun was the remotest in the world as the next nearest were Etna or Rome both 400km away. No more as a new one started up at Gallipoli. Sirenhello parkrun is only 62km away from Cisternino. So we had to fit in a visit before our return to the U.K.
Friday 09-October-2026.
Heading to Gallipoli, we stopped off in Manduria for a quick wine tasting and lunch.
For the wine tasting we went to the Museo Della Civiltà del Vino Primitivo where we could do a free tasting. Of course, like most people, we bought some bottles so I’m sure they don’t lose out by giving the tasting for free.
They had a huge range on offer so we focussed our selection. First we tried two method champenoise sparkling. We had a white and a rosé, one each so we could compare-and-contrast. Then we tried three primitivo from the same producer but different quality and price levels. We both preferred the middle of the three.
Lunch was trickier as many places were closed and we ended up a local café with a limited selection of panini. We chose Italy's answer to a ham and cheese toasty and very tasty it was too!
The imposing Palazzo Imperiali - Filotico build by the Imperial princes of Francavilla starting in 1717. From the signs outside it now includes a bank and a restaurant.
However, thanks to the time we spent wandering around the town, we caught a procession of amazing Ferrari as they passed through the town centre.
This was part of the Rossocorsa Classiche Puglia 2026 featuring:
- Vintage Racers: The Ferrari 340 MM (winner of the 1953 Mille Miglia), a 340 America (which raced at Le Mans in 1951), and two 750 Monza models.
- The Hypercar Trinity: A rare sequential display of technical evolution featuring the F40, F50, and the Enzo.
- Icons: The 250 California Spider, Daytona, and Testarossa.
Driving the rest to the route to Gallipoli we passed vineyard after vineyard of what we assumed were mostly Primitivo.
Our accommodation was an about half an hours walk from the centre so on a recommendation from our host we dined locally at La Lampara. I had a very tasty vongole sauté basically the clam version of moules marinière and Mary had polpo arrosto, Italy’s version of the The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.
Saturday 10-October-2026.
Sirenhello 10/10/26 32:00 [5/7].
Italy’s second newest parkrun, it was only at week seven. It is a convoluted, labyrinthine course, Italy’s answer to the Curly Wurly (Somerdale Pavilion parkrun)! Daniele the RD very proudly explained that he designed it himself.
An unusually wet day with no locals at all apart from the volunteers. 100% tourists, with six from the UK including a couple we met the week before at Salento and one person originally from Poland. By the time Mary reached the finish line she was soaked.
After lunch we went drove as close as we could get to the centre before the ZTL kicked in. We had been to Gallipoli years ago but neither of use have any memory of it other than a seafood restaurant wouldn’t serve us coffee with milk in it - an Italian belief that mixing milk and seafood is bad for you. So it was good to revisit, taking a stroll around the outside of the peninsula. Not so scenic were the narrow streets of the centre full of restaurants, BnBs and tat shops.
The castlello hold a commanding position over the port.
A curious bird-like sculpture in the water next to the castello.
Late afternoon we had a wine tasting at Cantina Coppola. First a bit history on the cantina and a tour of the facilities with wine pumps and a barrel weighing device.
The Coppola family tree of winemakers extends back an impressive five centuries to 1489!
As part of the tour we could see into the cellars through glass floor tiles. The small barrels hold Primitivo, the large barrel at the back is Negroamaro. They also make sparkling wine by the metodo classico (as used in Champagne) and the racks (pupitre) hold the bottles with the yeast being riddled (shaken down).
Then on to the tasting. We had booked for Negroamaro four ways: sparkling, white, rosé and red. At the end they offered us a bonus glass each so Mary had another Negroamaro and I had a Primitivo:
- Coppola Dosaggio Zero
- Rocci Puglia Bianco IGT
- Licuti Alezio Rosato DOC
- Licuti Alezio Rosso DOC
- Doxi Alezio Rosso DOC Negroamaro 80%, Malvasia 20%
- Patitari Salento Rosso IGT Primitivo 100%
Fascinating to see the different styles from one grape variety. We enjoyed their wines and bought some sparkling and red.
A lot of restaurants around us were closed as it is the end of the season so, rather than dine at the same restaurant as Friday night, we walked 25 minutes to another fishy restaurant Vista Mare "Lu Spariolu". While we were in there the heavens opened and we walked back through torrents of water and flash floods in the streets. We were were sodden by the time we got back to the apartment.
Sunday 11-October-2026.
We decided on a gentle drive back across country to avoid the boring SS16 which we drive up and down every Saturday when we go to Salento parkrun. We broke our journey for a coffee at a lively café in Torre Santa Susanna and were back to Cisternino in time for a very tasty and appealing lunch at Chirico.
Finally a quiet evening in to round off the weekend.
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