In 1507, the Caracciolo family were awarded the fiefdom of Martina Franca, and it remained in the family estate until 1827. The dukes were not always beneficent rulers, but they obviously had good taste when it came to town planning; the town is a architectural jewel. The streets are full of baroque palazzi and churches, with ornate carvings and facades. The largest of the buildings, built in 1667, is the Palazzo Ducale, its design attributed to Giovanni Andrea Larducci. The walls of its rooms are covered in frescos of typical 18th century pastoral scenes, with musicians serenading the nobles. Music has clearly been in the townspeople’s blood for centuries.

The courtyard was a hive of activity as the stage hands prepared the stage for the evening’s performance of “Giulietta e Romeo” by Vaccaj. Of the three operas being presented at this year’s festival this was the one I was most looking forward to, and I was not disappointed. It was musically a wonderful presentation and well staged.

On leaving the Palazzo, I managed to meet the countertenor, Raffaele Pè, who had performed so convincingly in Scarlatti’s “Il trionfo dell’onore” and in Rossini’s “Messa.” Rossini’s mass is, indeed, a strange work, the music more suitable to a theatre than a church – which, I suppose, shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise. It was very enjoyable though! Raffaele informed me that his forthcoming CD will be released in October. It will contain baroque arias, all of which were written for the character of Julius Cesare, but by different composers. Sounds interesting.

The opera finished, as usual, after midnight. I then had a late coffee in a local bar, and took my leave of Martina Franca for another year.