Day 2: Lecce - Mesange – Ostuni (October 4, 2025) 48 miles (83 miles to date)

We are still not fully time adjusted. Both of us woke early, up before 6 am, and waited for the 8 am breakfast. We started riding before 9 am. The weather improved. No rain, headwinds all day, and occasional sun. Average temperatures are 20 F below normal. After a week of rain, the   streams were brown and the fields had standing water.

I felt great at the start but riding seemed a bit harder than usual. At 15 miles, I was asking John to slow 1 or 2 mph. When I took the lead John heard a strange noise, and then noticed I had a flat tire on my bike trailer. Tiring to pull a trailer for miles with a flat tire! That evening, we found 2 thorns in the tire and one hole in the tube. Both of us were spent by Ostuni.

Our plan was to have pizza for lunch in Mesange between 12 and 1:30, then pasta for dinner in Ostuni. We reversed that when we could not find an open pizzeria in Mesagne. Instead we enjoyed the best pasta meal yet at L'Incontro in Mesange. Our Ostuni evening meal was pizza, just around the corner. I saved a quarter for Sunday breakfast.

Lodging Notes

I have used booking.com, a Netherlands group, to identify and reserve lodging for multiple bike trips. Rick Steves recommends booking directly because booking.com takes a 17% commission, but I lack the time when traveling and booking a day or so in advance. 

Usually, the hardest element is finding the place using Google Maps, Apple Maps, or Organic Maps. Location services on a cell phone might be off by 10-50 yards, inadequate in a medieval walled city, streets names are wrong in the mapping app, and there are no physical street signs.

European regulations ask renters to collect and report passport info. Most hosts just take a photo of the main passport page. Our Ostuni host was different. After booking they sent an email via the booking.com:

Your Host has chosen Vikey to manage your check-in: This is to be completed prior to your arrival at your accommodation. For details regarding check-in procedures please contact your host.

In order to complete the online check-in please click on the link below and follow instructions (this will only take a couple of minutes during which you will be asked to fill in some information for your Host):
https://guest.vikey.it/checkin/AM8SGZ7I

Please bear in mind that check-in completion is required by law.

John and I could not complete this request after multiple tries with our phones and my laptop. I wasted more than 2 hours. Put me in a terrible mood, and I was disgusted with this property and hope no one else encounters the "vikey" reservation system.

Casa Oronza

Address: Vicolo Melingi, 3, 72017 Ostuni, Italy

Casa Oronza Bedroom. We had two bedrooms, kitchen with washing machine, and a bath. John caught the first shower, but the hot water ended in 5 minutes. I resorted to a 1 minute cold shower. John looked for the water heater, then breaker panel with no luck. After multiple texts where the manager told John to check the "0-1 switch because the power could have been turned off", John found that the wall plate in his bedroom containing two switches linked to his light and the water heater. Just a poor design and possibly illegal. We liked the arched stone ceiling throughout except in the bathroom, where a jagged stone ledge juts over the toilet. I have a nice scab.

(From the web)

Mesagne is an integral part of the Salento region. Mesagne’s historic center retains the ancient cobblestone surfaces with Baroque and Renaissance buildings, decorated façades, wrought-iron balconies, and bas-relief stone portals.Mesagne had walls and access gates that controlled the flow of people and goods. Porta Nuova remains, separating the modern city and internal alleyways and courtyards. The Via Azzolino or “flower-lined street,” balconies and windows are adorned with geraniums and ornamental plants.

Ostuni

Ostuni, 8 km from the coast, has a population of about 32,000 during the winter but can swell to 200,000 inhabitants during summer. The region produces quality olive oil and wine. Its charming white houses spread out over the top of three hills. A maze of streets and alley ways lead you through narrow streets. The bright white buildings and blue give Ostuni the feel of a Greek city.

Ostuni is only 70km from Greece and, like the rest of southern Italy was once part of the Greek empire.

Unusual  trulli cottages dot the area with conical roofs and white walls. The old town streets meander and twist upwards to the 15th century Gothic style cathedral. Nearly all the doors are painted shades of blue, turquoise and green. Many of the Greek-style houses have ornate Baroque details added to windows or doors. The main monuments to see are the cathedral, the Bishop's Palace, and the church of San Vito Martire. The cathedral has an unusual shape with concave and convex lines and a rose window with 24 carved sections representing the hours of the day. The Bishop's Palace was built in the 16th century and has an ornate bridge connecting the palace to the Cathedral cloisters.

Primitivo? Primitivo is the typical area varietal. Vines were everywhere, from well-tended fields owned by major wineries to small family plots for personal use. Field crops were grapes, olives, squash, melon, and family gardens but minimal grain.

My Lunch, the Best Traditional Pasta of The Trip to Date. Shrimp, mussels, and clams in a cherry tomato, olive oil, and white wine sauce, house-made pasta. 

John's Lunch. Ravioli filled with shrimp and ricotta then topped with fresh creme.

Tarallini. Our server said she also makes the bread and tarallini herself. Tarallini is like a crisp round bread stick.  

L'Incontro in Mesange

Porta Nuova, Mesange

Mesange Historic Town Layout

What croisette's (Italian)or croissant's (French) cost in Italy. US price — about $5.

First trulli spotted. The modern version, covered in concrete.

Best Pizza Yet. Top, John's vegetarian. Bottom, my artichoke, mushroom, black olive, ham, and fresh mozzarella.