This past weekend was one of the funnest, and most relaxing short trips I’ve had in a long time. One of my best and oldest friends, Martha, rented a villa in Puglia and invited us down to join her and her family for a few nights.
One of the reasons that it was so much fun (besides my loving to spend time with Martha, Avrum, Chuck and Deena) was the fact that I didn’t have to do any planning what-so-ever. Not only was the ‘where’ taken care of (and the villa they rented was beyond incredible) Martha and Deena had figured out the ‘what’ as well.
When I travel I am usually doing it for work or with my family, or both. Either way usually involves lots of planning on my part so that we can get the most out of every minute. This means tons of research, organization and emailing pre trip. Some of this has to do with the fact that I like being in charge. Yes, I’ve got a strong streak of control freak running through my veins.
But lately, as I get older, the idea of just letting go and going along for the ride is one of the most luxurious things I can think of. Part of it is because it’s nice to stop over thinking once in a while.The other part is the possibility of being completely surprised. So arriving off the train in Brindisi, and having not much idea what we’d be up to was my idea of heaven.
Both Martha and Dena are not only excellent trip planners and researchers, they also love ceramics and so, being in Puglia, I knew this was going to be high on their list. But by the time I had arrived on Friday I found out that they had already visited Grottaglie, one of the biggest ceramic centers in the south. “But don’t worry,’ Martha explained to me, “Tomorrow we are going to go to Cutrofiano.”
I’d never heard of the town, but I was up for the drive through the beautiful countryside and of course thought that if I could buy a plate or two, that would be a plus.
When we arrived at Cutrofiano it was, at first, kind of what I expected. This area of Puglia, the Salento, is a study in contrasts. On the one hand you can stumble upon achingly beautiful, small, white-washed towns like Otranto, Ostuni and Ceglie Mesapica. But there is a lot of ugliness as well, with whole villages that look like they were designed by….well, that looked like they weren’t designed at all. Just bad, ugly construction that has gone up in the last fifty years and now calls itself a town.
Cutrofiano looked like it was pretty much going to be an ugly washout.
We parked the car and headed to the one ceramic store we saw at the crossroads. Full of boring looking dishes and terra cotta pots, it was nothing to get excited about. When we asked the owner if there was a center of town, he replied not really. And when asked if there were other ceramic stores, he again replied in the negative. But finally, as we were leaving the store, to try to explore on our own, he admitted that ‘there was one more place, about 50 meters up the road.’
And this is what we found.
Mr. Coli, making ceramics, as his family has been doing for the last 200 years or so.
As he worked on a bowl, we were invited to visit the store behind the workshop. Urns, plates, bowls, jugs and just about anything else you could form out of ceramic were piled high on metal shelves, in cardboard boxes and on the tiled floor. It was a ceramic junkies dream come true.
As Martha and Dena dug through the piles, I snapped a few photographs and tried to chat with Mr. Coli. He was having none of it. He was pleasant, but he also made it very clear he had work to do.
When we had finally gathered up the platters and jugs we wanted to buy, he wiped his hands, wrapped up our pieces, took our money, and continued working.
Just as he had all his life.
F.lli Coli’
Via Roma 63
Cutrofiano , Lecee
0836.541.382
For more information on dining in Puglia and Italy download my app, EAT ITALY. EAT ITALY is a free app, and contains guides to Venice, Milan, Rome, Florence, Torino and Puglia (and an ever expanding list of regions and cities) available as in-app purchases or for free for both iPhone and iPad.
What the poor man does not realise is that, with your wonderful blog , you have just made him famous and now he will be disturbed a lot more in the future:)
Thanks, this was a lovely read.
Amanda
Any pictures of the villa?
Coming soon……:)
Would love to see some pictures of the beautiful villa!
Don’t worry, they photos of the villa are coming up.
Not trying to be an internet stalker, but there seems to be picture of Mr. Coli on Google street view walking between his factory and his shop. At least I assume it’s him – the gentleman is wearing the same green sweater vest as in your photos and carrying some unglazed ceramics. His work is very nice. I appreciated the consistency of the bowls in the second and third photos in the gallery. Even unglazed they are attractive.
Since there only seemed to be about 20 people living in that town, I’m not surprised you spotted him. And that vest was combined fashion with practicality, no wonder he wears it all the time.
Does he work alone? Does he also do the painting?
He was there working alone when we visited. Generally women do the painting, but I can’t be sure here.
Loved this Elizabeth. Thank you for documenting.
Oh, man. Does he do all the glaze decorating himself? And of course I’d love pictures of what treasures you snagged.
I actually ended up buying only a set of small bowls, which I plan on giving as gifts. Martha got a lovely sgrafitto type platter and Deena got a set of egg cups that she’s planning on using as votive candle holders. ALL of us, looking at my photographs later, are kicking ourselves for not getting more.
Just wonderful to visually rummage through his shop. He is on a mission! Very fun indeed. Thanks, Elizabeth.
I love this story….a happy ending too. Have a soft spot for Puglia….but where the villa was located?
The Villa was near Messagne.
WoW!!!! I want to go!!! Fantastic find!!
Heaven on earth for a ceramic junkie. I’d love to stumble across a place like this.
Here in the Puglia the most interesting element to the classic ‘white field blue dot’ ceramic pattern is that the dots and configuration used to be very city indicative. In some ways it still is. There is a vegetable, something like okra, that stamps the 5 dots for Grottaglie, another city famous here for ceramics. Hold 7 thin sticks together in a fist and you can stamp the blue dots like in Cutrofiano, etc. Nowadays much of this is done with littles sponges but the basis for it is pure Puglia: how to make the most out of so very little.
Interesting! I had no idea about that.
Oh man.
Those plates on the floor with the Jackson Pollack type pattern? I must have them.
I know, aren’t they great?! I am so regretting not getting a big bowl in that pattern.
What a great blog! Someone just forwarded it to me today and the timing could not be better, as we head to Nardo in a couple weeks to furnish a place there that we just renovated. We will definitely be making a visit to this place.Thanks!
Lucky you! I’ll have a few more posts next week, so stay tuned.
Yay!
My husband and I will be in Puglia this December and I would love to stop by here.
Do you have the address for this location?
Thank you for sharing this experience!
Yes, right there at the bottom of the post. Have a great time! And remember to download my app, Eat Italy, which contains my favorites for Puglia
We visited today and it looks like he might be retiring. The shop had only a few things for sale. No stacks of plates, just a few shelves with a few pieces on each shelf.
Yes, in fact, they are sadly going out of business.