EDITORIAL

T

he closing balance of this summer is great. Puglia seems universally to have become the magic place chosen by every sort of celebrity for their holidays, tourism, weddings, second homes and luxurious masserie-buen retiro. No other locality at the moment is enjoying such popularity.

World media talked for weeks about the legendary Indian wedding that was held at the beginning of September at Savelletri di Fasano, in the province of Brindisi; that of Rohan Metha and Ritika, daughter of Indian iron magnate Pramod Agarwal who, bewitched by the beauty of the red earth, centuries-old olive trees and crystal-clear sea, chose Puglia as the scenario for the Pharaonic wedding of his third child.

Heading the list of the super V.I.P.s who have fallen in love with Puglia is British actress Helen Mirren with her husband, American director Taylor Hackford, author of unforgettable films like An Officer and a Gentleman and Devil’s Advocate. The couple, as is well-known, have bought and renovated an ancient masseria at Tiggiano, a village in the inland area of South Salento, a stone’s throw from the charming rocky coastline of the Leuca Cape. This is where they stay, for longer and longer periods every year. Hackford, recently consolidated his ties with Salento by opening the “Farmacia Balboa”, a wine & cocktail bar and cultural meeting-place, in the old town center of Tricase, in partnership with Francesco Winspeare, producer of high-quality wines and brother of film director Edoardo.

Gérard Depardieu, attracted by the fantastic food and wine tradition of Puglia, has had a house in the old town center of Lecce for a long time. Anyone who happens to stop at Lo Scalo, a charming restaurant and bathing lido on one of the most beautiful rocky bays in Salento, will realize, by checking out the photos on the walls inside the premises, that they’ve been preceded by Jude Law and Sienna Miller, Emanuele Filiberto, Stanley Tucci and many other stars. Puglia has also been chosen as the backdrop for The Bold and the Beautiful, one of the most popular soap operas in the world. In Spring, twelve episodes, with leading actors Ron Moss (Ridge) and Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke) were shot between Polignano a Mare, Alberobello and Masseria San Domenico di Savelletri. Italian singer Gianni Morandi makes no secret of choosing, every year, for his summer holidays, one of the most beautiful beaches in Italy, that of Lido Pizzo, a short hop from Gallipoli. Holidays in Puglia too, this year, between Gallipoli and Santa Maria di Leuca, for top show-girl, Belen Rodriguez, with her husband, Stefano De Martino.

In Fall the star-parade tendency seems to be continuing: at the end of September, British royals Prince Harry, the younger son of the unforgettable Diana and Prince Charles, and the Duchess of Cambridge’s sister, Pippa Middleton, came to the castle in Monopoli with Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, for the wedding of Charlie Gilkes to Anneke von Trotha Taylor.

If this colossal advertising campaign had had to be funded it would have needed a multi-million dollar budget. As it was, hotels, bed and breakfasts and top restaurants were full up for weeks and many still hope to take advantage of the resulting popularity of the area.

But there is another side to the coin. The general employment situation is not at all promising and unemployment rates in Puglia linger around the alarming figure of 20%. To this we must add the soon-to-be undertaken project of the building of a gas duct, the T.A.P. (Trans Adriatic Pipeline), with the approval of the Italian government but in the face of a strong and well-motivated hostility from the local population. The colossal construction, whose environmental impact on land and sea is very controversial, should start off from Azerbaijan, cross the Adriatic and come up at San Foca, a coastal village near Melendugno, an area which boasts some award-winning beaches and is next to zones of great natural and archaeological importance. The project will be carried out, not only against the wishes of the local people, but also in spite of the strong tourist vocation of this territory to which stars from all over the planet have, in recent years, awarded their clear endorsement.

Will Puglia be able to bear this success in mind and avoid disfigurement by implementing the safeguarding of its natural beauty and embracing, firmly, only those projects which create wealth and jobs by means of sustainable development?