The event “Coming home” conceived by Italea Puglia, an organization that operates within the territorial network of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as part of the “Italea” program on roots tourism, is getting underway.

On Friday 13 and Saturday 14 December in the spaces of the former Palmieri Boarding School in Lecce “Returning home” welcomes a two-day event dedicated to the “worlds” of roots tourism in Puglia.

It starts on Friday, with a round table from morning to afternoon that invites institutions, associations, scholars, experts and operators to discuss the prospects of roots tourism starting from some significant Apulian best practices; in the afternoon, the day ends with a “Sung Walk” in the historic center of Lecce for the Feast of Santa Lucia.

On Saturday 14 a whole day of free activities is scheduled, including guided tours and roots workshops, and in the evening the two-day event “Italea Puglia: the Festival of Apulian roots” closes with the show La Santa Allegrezza with Enza Pagliara, Dario Muci and the master puppeteer Dario De Micheli.

Until 20 December, moreover, the ceramic exhibition La Santa Tavola on the ritual foods of the Apulian holidays, curated by Salento a Km0, can be visited.

Coming home

Italea Puglia’s mission is to attract and welcome Apulian and Italian-descendants abroad to the Heel of Italy with the intention of discovering the places and traditions of their origins. The objective of Italea Puglia is therefore the networking and enhancement of the most dynamic realities active in the area, for the creation of a tourist offer expressly dedicated to travelers of the roots with a view to a 360-degree enhancement of the link between local communities and foreign communities.

In about a year of activity, Radici di Puglia aps/Italea Puglia has launched dozens of projects in collaboration with Apulian institutions, associations and operators, has promoted a large number of educational tours and events from Gargano to Salento, activating itineraries and workshops in each territory involved, and taken part in the missions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Italy and abroad (including São Paulo in Brazil, Buenos Aires, New York, Melbourne).

The December event in Lecce is a moment of restitution and storytelling of this first year of Italea Puglia, through many free activities open to the public.

The location of all the activities of the “Coming home” event, the former Convitto Palmieri, a refined and dynamic cultural container in the heart of Lecce, seals the special relationship between Italea Puglia and the Polo Biblio-Museale di Lecce, partner of the project since the beginning of its adventure, and official headquarters of Italea Puglia (in the spaces of the Castromediano Museum).

 

The two-day event on roots tourism

THE PROGRAM OF DECEMBER 13

On Friday, December 13 , starting at 9 a.m. at the former Convitto Palmieri, the round table “Stories, perspectives and best practices of roots tourism in Puglia” is scheduled. An opportunity for discussion between institutions, associations with cultural purposes, scholars, experts and tour operators of the Apulian territory, to share visions, ideas and strategies for a Puglia “tailored to the traveler of the roots”.

The event is organized under the patronage of the Puglia Region, the Regional Council of Puglia, the Department of Tourism of the Puglia Region, PugliaPromozione, PugliaCulture, Anci Puglia, Polo Biblio Museale di Lecce, the Province of Lecce, the Municipality of Lecce, the Municipality of Galatina, the Municipality of Grottaglie, the Municipality of Molfetta, the Municipality of Monte Sant’Angelo, the Municipality of Toritto, the Municipality of Bovino, the University of Salento, and in collaboration with the Archival and Bibliographic Superintendence of Puglia, Institute of the History of the Risorgimento, Espéro srl, Salento a Km0, Molfettesi nel Mondo Association, San Vito Martire Charity Association – São Paulo in Brazil, Apulian Federation of Australia – Melbourne, Melbourne Apulian Youth Association, Apulian Association of Buenos Aires and Gran Buenos Aires, Apulian Winterthur Association, Camera a Sud, Artem, Città del Gusto Lecce, BECool.

After the registration of the participants at 9 a.m., at 9.30 a.m. the morning work opens, moderated by Sara Colonna and Giorgia Salicandro of Italea Puglia, introduced by institutional greetings in the presence of Luigi De Luca, director of the Polo Biblio Museale di Lecce, Loredana Capone, president of the Regional Council of Puglia, Adriana Poli Bortone, mayor of the Municipality of Lecce, Marina Gabrieli, national coordinator of the Italian Programme “Tourism of the roots” of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Gianfranco Lopane, Councillor for Tourism, Development and Tourism Enterprise of the Puglia Region, Alessandro Delli Noci, Councillor for Economic Development of the Apulia Region, Michele Sperti, Deputy Vice President of ANCI Puglia, Stefano Minerva, President of the Province of Lecce.

This will be followed by the panel dedicated to the Italea Programme with speeches by Attilio Ardito, coordinator for Puglia of the Italea “Tourism of the roots” Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Sara Colonna, Rita Piccinni, Giorgia Salicandro of Italea Puglia, who will present “Returning home with Italea Puglia: a year of activity”.

The second panel of the morning is dedicated to “Roots tourism: perspectives and best practices of the Apulian municipalities”.

Below are the scheduled speeches: Lucrezia d’Ambrosio and Vincenzo de Pinto of the Press Office of the Municipality of Molfetta, and Angela Maria Rosaria Amato, president of the Molfettesi nel Mondo Association “Rodolfo Caputi” will talk about “The Madonna of the Martyrs of Molfetta and its celebration for the people of Molfetta in the world”; Dino Rotunno, mayor of the Municipality of Toritto, and Paola Abbrescia of the General Affairs sector of the Municipality of Toritto: “From New York to Toritto: the journey of the roots to find a family history”; Fabio Vergine, mayor of the Municipality of Galatina, and Barbara Perrone , head of Territorial Marketing and Communication of the Mayor’s Staff, will speak on “The program ‘Roots. In the heart of emotions’ of the Municipality of Galatina”; Aurelio Marangella, president of the Municipal Council of the Municipality of Grottaglie, closes the session: “Grottaglie in Winterthur: the festival of Apulian roots in Switzerland”.

From 3 p.m. the afternoon session opens, moderated by Sara Colonna and Giorgia Salicandro, and dedicated to “Roots tourism: themes and visions between Puglia and the world”.

Speakers Ada Manfreda and Salvatore Colazzo of Espéro innovative PMI, formerly a spin-off of UniSalento, on “Development of peripheral communities: the contribution of research”; Oronzo Trio, professor of Territorial Marketing UniSalento: “Religious devotion as an element of territorial marketing. The case of the Feast of the Madonna dressed in gold of Surbo”; Sarah Siciliano, professor of Sociology of Communication and Empowerment of Places at UniSalento: “Salento from resource to cultural product”; Giovanna Bino, Inspector (IAO)-Archival Superintendence-Puglia-MiC: “Archives custodians of memory: looking at the past to invent the future”; Marco Giannotta, vice president of Puglia Culture – Consortium for Arts and Culture of the Puglia Region: “Culture, art and traditions as a driving force for the development of Puglia”; Francesca Casaluci, anthropologist, curator of the exhibition La Santa Tavola: “Cibus loci: food traditions and cultural memory”; Ilaria Florio, president of the Camera a Sud association: “For an Archive of life stories in Borgo Pace: a work in progress”; Luigi Antonazzo, head of Coworking Artem: “Coworking: a space for roots travelers and digital nomads”.

The afternoon session closes with the testimonies of the Apulian communities abroad and the Italian-descendants met in this first year of activity by Italea Puglia.

Friday closes with music with the “Camminata cantata” by Italea Puglia: at 6.30 pm, starting from the former Convitto Palmieri, a cheerful musical walk will cross the historic center of Lecce to the sound of the bagpipe. A tribute to the ancient community rites for the Feast of Santa Lucia, with Carlo and Tommaso Massarelli and the performance “The Goat that sings”.

 

THE PROGRAM OF DECEMBER 14

On Saturday 14 December starting at 10 am, again in the spaces of the former Convitto Palmieri, the whole day will be animated by guided tours and “roots workshops” open to the public.

An opportunity to immerse yourself in a fun and exciting way in the worlds crossed by roots tourism, from genealogical research to cultural heritage, to traditional knowledge.

It starts at 10 a.m. with a special event, with a strong symbolic value: the “Interweaving of communities” by Giancarlo Scrimieri of IntrecciArte.

From 10 a.m. until late afternoon (participants can join for as long as they want) we will work together to create a large basket following the craft techniques of the past. A collective work, evocative of the bonds of community that resist beyond all time and distance. The basket will accommodate a small tree that will be donated to the Polo Biblio Museale di Lecce, continuing to bear witness to these values in the Cloister of the Convitto Palmieri.

From 10 to 12, the second workshop of the day is “A recipe from “La Santa Tavola”: purceddhruzzi” in collaboration with Città del Gusto Lecce and BECool. With chef Mirella Guido, participants will learn how to make a sweet prince of Apulian Christmas traditions, one of the dishes of choice of the exhibition “La Santa Tavola”.

Afterwards, at 12 noon it will be possible to participate in a special guided tour of the exhibition, with the curator Francesca Casaluci.

“La Santa Tavola” by Salento a Km0 is dedicated to the ritual foods of the Apulian festivals. Extraordinary ceramic reproductions, ordered on a “table” that follows the cycle of seasons and festivals, the result of the meeting between the master ceramist Agostino Branca and the cultural anthropologist and expert in food culture Francesca Casaluci. “La Santa Tavola” for the first time offers an overview of “sacred food” and the traditions connected to it, throughout the year. The great protagonists are, of course, the Christmas dishes, from the Pucce dell’Immacolata to the Taradd Scatat Taranto, to the Poperati del Gargano, then the inevitable Mustaccioli, and the Almond paste fish. All rigorously reproduced in ceramic.

The afternoon resumes with the third workshop of the day scheduled from 4 to 6 pm, “The ancestor in the drawer: sources for the search for roots” by Giovanna Bino, inspector (IAO)-Archival Superintendence-Puglia-MiC.

When we talk about genealogy, we often imagine long ancestry lines, dusty portraits, and stories buried in time. But the reality is that genealogy is a dynamic social science, allowing us to explore who we are through the lens of the past. Every discovery can be a surprise: a grandfather who fought in a war, a great-grandmother who emigrated to a distant country, or a profession handed down from father to son. Each genealogical journey is unique and personal. Each piece represents a person, an event, a decision. Over time, these pieces fit together and reveal a bigger picture of our identity and family history. How to concretely start our journey? What are the useful sources? Participants will be able to find out with this workshop.

Afterwards, at 6 pm, Giovanna Bino will lead the guided tour “Discovering the “Archives of the ‘900”. An interesting opportunity to delve into the “behind the scenes” of the Archives of the ‘900 kept at the former Convitto Palmieri, a work dedicated to bringing out and shaping biographical and professional moments, narrated through a creative approach, dynamic and usable, able to “return history” and individual stories to a diversified audience. Living, interactive archives, not a simple deposit: a place of study and reflections, but above all an experiential labyrinth to be crossed and experienced as a show.

Italea Puglia: the Festival of Apulian roots

At 8.30 p.m. , the two-day Italea Puglia will be closed by “Italea Puglia: the Festival of Apulian Roots”, a stage of the traveling festival promoted by Italea Puglia on the occasion of the 2024 “Year of Italian Roots” of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to enhance the stories of the communities and authentic traditions of the Heel of Italy.

To animate the party, the show “La Santa allegrezza”, songs, legends and Christmas rites by Enza Pagliara and Dario Muci with Gianluca Longo and the master puppeteer Dario De Micheli. The performance will be introduced by Eugenio Imbriani, professor of Cultural Anthropology and History of Popular Traditions at the University of Salento.

The result of passionate research, the repertoire takes inspiration from songs and stories that have come down to us by oral transmission or through documents kept in the books of illustrious scholars of popular traditions. Music and songs meet the ancient art of the puppets of the nativity scene, in the act of shaping the earth that renews the mystery and the rite of creation and rebirth. The show wants to be a way to safeguard traditions by telling them to the youngest and renewing the memory to the elderly, preserving their memory and, with it, our culture and our roots.

Guided tours and musical events are free to attend. The roots workshops are free to attend, with a membership card (5 euro membership fee). Info and reservations: info@italeapuglia.com; WhatsApp 3927461452.