Dolce Vita in the Villa Rodogallo
Already at dawn the bells are ringing from the nearby Carmelite nunnery Santa Teresa. In the garden of Villa Rodogallo, whose red shines in the morning light, peasant Marco knocks the almonds off the trees with a long stick. They fall into orange-colored nets, which are spread under the trunks. Even landlord Don Ambrogio has long been awake and is bent over in his beds, snapping bright red peppers from the branches and tucks delicious sweet Pendolino tomatoes from the bushes. On the wrought-iron balcony you can enjoy the first rays of sunshine while still in your pajamas. The owner of the house, Donna Enza, is already working downstairs. Blonde and waving light green dress, balancing a melon on the shoulder.
The bar in Villa Rodogallo is like a baroque still life
She wants to go to the kitchen where cook Fabricia quietly rattles the coffee and cooks with her colleague Dan, which Enza harvested early in the morning. Whoever La Dolce Vita? The sweet life ? first described, he could have been inspired here.
Whoever walks through this trellis lands in the Garden of Eden.
We are located on the Salento peninsula, the region of Apulia that forms the heel of the Italian boot. To the west lie the tiny towns of Sannicola and Tuglie. From the village street, which connects the two places, a pines avenue branches off and ends in a trellis of rose-colored oleanders. If you walk through this trellis, you end up directly in the Garden of Eden: on Rodogallo.
The villa, a country house from the 18th century, was formerly the seat of power. Today it is a guest house with three double rooms and one suite, run by Enza and Ambrogio Santese. If you stay here, Enza will serve you a breakfast like no other in Apulia. In the Beletage overlooking the secluded citrus garden and the nearby monastery, the tables are set. Fragrant espresso is served. Then the view of the blackboard against which a baroque still life looks like a fleeting sketch: oven-warm brioche with juicy pear pieces! Focaccia with garden tomatoes! Crostata made from crunchy shortcrust pastry with figs and mulberries! Compote of freshly picked yellow and white peaches, flavored with fresh mint! Candied orange peels! Juicy melons! Almond! Sugared thick black mulberries! Dewy, shiny ricotta! In addition, deep red Vincotto, a syrup of sweet Malvasia grapes! Tarallini, an Apulian pastry specialty! Biscotti alla Nonna! With apple compote! And everything from our own harvest and just prepared by ourselves!
The sight is a revelation, as if an ancient goddess had poured out her cornucopia here. Enza is beaming. At the Villa Rodogallo there is unfortunately only breakfast? However, the word "only" is forbidden at this point. The city of Gallipoli, more than 2000 years old and located directly on the sea, is seven kilometers away. With its typical Italian lanes and squares, it charms every visitor. In their cafes, bars and restaurants you can bridge the time until the next breakfast. As in the splendid Baroque city of Lecce, in the tranquil Sanctuary of Galatone ...
There is a unique light all over Salento. The cities shimmer delicately and white, the houses are nested as in the villages on the islands of the Aegean Sea. This similarity is no coincidence. In ancient times, between 700 and 500 BC, the Salento was inhabited by Greeks. The sounding name Rodogallo still reminds of it. "Beautiful roses" means the word that derives from ancient Greek. That's what the immigrants called the area. In the Middle Ages there was a monastery here. Later, the manor was built on the foundations of the abandoned monastery, which of course was painted pink. Ambrogio's grandmother bought the estate for her children, Ambrogio's father Silvio farmed the farm. Franco, one of the agricultural workers, says that even his ancestors earned their bread here. Ambrogio's mother Pippi is said to have given wonderful celebrations
Maybe it's paradise
Today it is Enza who upholds the hospitality. She has lovingly furnished the spacious rooms with the beautiful garden view. Until ten years ago she was a teacher, but then her love for cooking won out. Everything she taught herself, only the thick recipe book of her mom served her as a guide. Today it is already quite tattered. But Enza does not need the book anymore. The harvest is enough inspiration for her. Ambrogio rattles behind the house with the Ape, his three-wheeled van, and unloads a basket of sparkling Cornetti peppers with a scoop of fragrant Pendolino tomatoes. On top of that he lays a huge bouquet of basil. Enza smiles sphingically. "Paradise?" She repeats. "Yeah, maybe it's here ..." Then she disappears into the kitchen with an armful of tender rucolas.
