When is the Exhibition of Cribs in Lecce
 It’s from 8th to 24th December. It is generally set in the ex convent of the Teatini (on the first floor). Here you can admire beautiful cribs of papier-mâché and terracotta, very realistic in the details; moreover you can buy the so called “pupi” for your domestic cribs, made by the artisans who show their objects here. It is a brilliance of colours and lights; the works are carefully made, especially those showing scenes of domestic life. Really you will come back to the times when Jesus was born.
When is the “Fire Festival” in Zollino?
It embodies symbols, messages and metaphors of people who still believe in old traditions and the meaning of fire.  It was started in 1978 by Giovanni Pellegrino, a funny citizen of Zollino, who wanted to keep alive some old traditions, such as the habit of putting small bonfires, the so called “focareddhe”, on the street corners during winter evenings. This festival has no religious meaning but since then it has become a grat folk event, on 27th and 28th December, with a high bonfire, lit up together with the emigrants come back home for Christmas time. Music, dance, buskers, typical dishes liven up these magical evenings; it has also a cultural side because people play a comedy, “Il processo alla striara”, recalling the witch hunt in the Middle Ages. The “striara” in fact is the dialect name for witches, for women who turn into cats on the full moon nights and dance on the beach.
Other events in December: The "Santa Lucia" fair in Scorrano - The "Sagra della Pittula" in Specchia, Surano, Tiggiano - Beautiful and evocative living and artistic Nativity Scenes all over the territory
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We can easily say that you can come to Salento whenever you want, thanks to our mild climate. Salento has a Mediterranean climate and the influence from the Mediteranean sea grants us, even in winter, a great supply of heat. Anyway the seasons here, though apparently similar to the other areas of Southern Italy, have their own peculiarities. 
In Spring the climate is mild, the weather is always sunny and rarely rainy. You can wear light dresses and comfortable shoes to visit the mediteranean bush (characterized by strong and fragrant undershrubs, such as myrtle and rosemary).
In Summer the weather is warm and dry and you can spend long hours along the coast, on the white beaches or the high cliffs. You can wear typical summer clothes and, of course, we suggest you to use a hat, sunglasses and protective creams. In the evenings there may be some misture and so you should better put on a cotton sweater.
Autumn shows colours varying from light green to dark brown. It rarely rains and the mild temperature allow the tourists to spend some pleasant days outdoors. Certainly in this season you will wear warmer clothes than in summer, but a pullover and a raincoat are enough.
Winter is rather short and not so cold. It rarely snows, therefore you can leave your fur coats at home and wear padded jackets. The coldest months are January and February, but indeed the temperature is always about 8 – 10 degrees.
It is celebrated in Novoli, on 16th and 17th January, in honour of the Saint patron, St. Antonio.
During Carnival time groups of masked people run around the main streets throwing confetti and playing each other jokes, while the jugglers entertain people with their wits.
In the main square or in their houses people set tables for pilgrims, friends or relatives, offering them something to eat as a gesture of friendship and welcome.
The main course is the so-called “massa of St. Giuseppe”: it consists of hand-made pasta cut into stripes that women prepare with durum wheat. They cook it in large pans, mix with “mugnuli” (little cabbage) and pour into big terrracotta bowls together with chickpeas, previously cooked in the “pignate” (typical bowls of Salento). They generally fry some of this pasta and when it gets dark add it to the rest and mix all with some oil. It is worthy to try!
You will breath a mystic atmosphere, especially on Holy Thursday. On this day all religious confraternities carry out the tradition of the processions, each with its colours and religious symbols, like the craft-guilds did in ancient times. 
(misteries); this is a very long procession that lasts till the following dawn. What is wonderful about it is the complete silence interrupted just by the rhythmical sound of the “troccola” (a wooden instrument with a shrill sound), the lights of the streets lamps and the sudden sound of trumpet (sounding like the Virgin’s cry). At dawn the statues and the confraternities come back into their churches.
The “Festa de lu Masciu” is a spring feast held in May, during the second and third week.
It is held on 21st June. It goes back to the greek-byzantine period and is on the same day as the Summer solstice, the day of the maximum daylight. People make lamps using coloured papers and reeds shaping them like stars, ships, aeroplanes or horses. They generally use things that they find at home; if they do not have enough things, they ask the neighbours to give them some coins to buy the necessary objects. At night the paper lamps are hung along the streets and lit up, among a charming game of colours and shapes. It goes on for two days, during which people organize several gastronomic and cultural events. After the festival they put together all the lamps and lit a purifying bonfire.
This is one of the best and most spectacular feasts in Salento. The celebrations last from 23rd to 25th July and remember when the Saint saved the town from cholera in 1867. To the Saint’s honour, who had suffered so many tortures in her life, people built a little chapel where there is a statue of papier-mâché portraying the Saint tied to a pole (this remember when the Saint was tied to a pole and whipped by twelve men for many hours; in the end they were exhausted while she survived). During these three days there are several events: bands play from morning to late evening in the old part of the town, the statue of the Saint is carried through the streets, but the most fabulous show is the traditional “climbing the greasy pole” in the sea; at midnight on the third day you cannot miss the fireworks!
This festival is held in Castro on 12th August in honour of the Madonna del Rosario. Fishermen are devoted to the Virgin who, according to the tradition, in 1896 had saved them during a storm and had let them go back into the little port of Castro. Since then, every year, a Mass has been offered; then people take the Virgin on a procession on the boats to the Zinzulusa cave. The fireworks display is the most beautiful moment because the lights reflect upon the green water creating a wonderful scenery. After the religious procession, people eat sea specialities, such as fried fish and mussels.
The festival is in front of the church dedicated to St. Rocco. Torrepaduli has been visited by pilgrims for a long time; they come here even on foot from towns nearby and sleep on the steps in front of the church waiting for the first Mass, at dawn. The origin of this spontaneous music and dance lies just in this long time that people pass here until dawn. In fact when the church is closed (after sunset, on 15th) you can hear the first sounds of tambourines and the longest summer night begins.
It is from 13th to 15th August and commemorates the death of 800 martyrs in 1480, when the town was attacked by the Turks.
Several rock stars have appreciated this music, such as Stewart Copeland of the Police, Noa, Nabil Salameh, Gianna Nannini, Franco Battiato, Francesco De Gregori and Piero Pelù.
Fortunato was his nephew; they both received baptism from Giusto who had been sent by St. Paolo to Rome to take some apostolic letters. Oronzo and Giusto began to preach the new faith but were denounced by the pagan priests. As they refused to offer incense to Jupiter in his temple, they were condamned to be whipped and put to prison. When he was free, St Paolo appointed him bishop of Lecce and Fortunato after him. But other problems arrived; in fact Emperor Nerone sent them to prison again because he wanted them to abjure the Christian faith. In the end, after long persecutions, they were taken three km. out of Lecce, on 26th August, and were beheaded. On the place of his death a church was erected, the church of “St. Oronzo fuori le Mura”. The feast in his honour dates back to the 16th century, but for a long time the tradition was stopped. Then he saved the town from a terrible plague, in 1656, and since then people have dedicated to him these three days of events, both religious and funny. On these days, people from other towns come to Lecce, visit the stalls and buy a great variety of things, or they listen to musical bands who play in every corner of the town. In the late afternoon on 24th a long procession goes through the town carrying the statues of the Saints while the crowd stand and pray along the streets. Both the Bishop of Lecce and the political and religious authorities take part. Finally there are the fireworks on the night of 26th.
It started in 1974 when a theatrical company from Denmark (the Odin Teatret) came here on retreat for a training tour, searching for the deepest folk traditions of Salento. During the meetings and seminars the company knew the local music and dance. While drinking wine (which they considered a magical drink!) the players gathered in the square and danced “taranta”, freeing their own bodies and spirits (this is the real meaning of the feast). Slowly people from Carpignano appreciated such outburst of theatre and music in the street and decided to organize a country feast with music, dances and gastronomic tastings. All this lasts 3-4 days and at the end a commitee gives a price to the best wine of the year while people eat dishes which can be well tried with wine: peppers, horse meat with sauce, hot chilli pepper oil and “lacciu” (that is celery), dipped into wine. The first name of the feast was “Lu Patrunu”, from a funny pastime used by men when they met friends and drank wine in large quantity. Then it was given the name of “Festa de lu mieru” and now it has become an important event without any religious meaning; it is also the occasion for exhibitions of local painting, folk civilization and craftsmanship.
During the feast (20th -21st October) roast pork is served in large quantities. In the past, in October, people visited several feasts in order to take in provisions for winter. Those who came here on the day before, used to camp for the night, cooked a pork in the square to eat and warm themselves. They now cook the meat in different ways: boiled, roasted or with sauce. It is the occasion to taste local specialities while in the morning there is the traditional fair and in the afternoon the “climbing the greasy pole”.
It’s from 25th to 28th October. It is linked to the one in Muro Leccese; people sell meat in the park of St. Vito while thousands of men and women taste the best pieces of pork.
This is one of the oldest fairs in the south of Italy, in fact it dates back to the 16th century. During it they serve pork from the local rearings.
“Novello” is the name given to the new wine, a very light one. It is held in Leverano during the first week of November, in the area where wine production has a great importance, in the suggestive historical centre of the town, near the high tower that, during Federico II’s reign, protected the village. There are costume parades (people dress as knights, ladies and pages) while buskers and bands liven up the streets. Typical dishes and products are served in stalls or in restaurants, but you cannot miss the wine drinking competition (with the funnel hanging from the drinkers’ necks). It is also the occasion for cultural meetings on wine productions, oenology and wines in Salento.