My wife and I took advantage of the beautiful day to return to visit the city of Fasano, in reality the part we visited is a place called Selva di Fasano, which is a naturalistic landscape that is located on the height of a hill and is a small refuge for tourists but also for the inhabitants of the city who have small villas here immersed in the verdant locality. The road to reach Selva di Fasano is anything but linear, there are many extreme angle curves up to 180 degrees from which you can admire a splendid panorama, however impossible to photograph unless at risk of an accident in the car.
The small town is mostly surrounded by huge trees and the air has something different, fresh and light. There are very few cars in circulation, the reason is that there is a small town where there is the essential: a supermarket, a bank counter, a bar, a newsagent, a pharmacy and a church. Everything else is a long, tree-lined avenue in which to stroll, sit on the benches to read a book or a newspaper or simply to look at the magnificent landscape in which we are immersed.
The chirping of birds, the meowing of cats and a few dogs that pass us by wagging their tails and looking at us with little interest, are probably aware that we are tourists and that we have no food for them. The peculiarity of the area we are visiting is the presence of many trulli, structures built entirely in stone and which in the past were a place where the peasants slept during periods of greatest work and also served as a tool shed. In recent years the trulli have been renovated and become a full-fledged housing unit or a typical local gift shop or commercial activity.
It is nice to observe the aesthetic aspect of these small structures, which have become a UNESCO heritage site and imagine the life that farmers could lead centuries ago. As previously mentioned, Selva di Fasano is located on a hilly area and offers many panoramic points from which to admire the whole area in the surroundings. We paused in some panoramic points, sitting on the benches and silently admiring what nature is offering us. Often we are so busy and used to the cancer of the city that we ignore what lies beyond and it is so disarming.
There are many paths that branch off from the main road and get lost in the woods, they are not officially traced paths but it is clear that they are traveled frequently, the footsteps of people well printed in the earth are evident. It is likely that unwanted encounters can be made such as wild boars or some specimens of wolves, introduced by man to block the out-of-control growth of the former.
The leaves of the trees begin to change color, a sign that autumn is approaching and the season of chestnuts and festivals will soon open, an event that attracts thousands of onlookers from all over. I already savor the scent of coals or pettole, a dough made of flour and water, cut into irregular strips and fried. I can't wait to take part in it and introduce you to this local tradition as well.
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