Pick of the week

“A Smoking Day” – I visited Puglia in Italy in the winter, when there were barely any tourists. It was the best decision I could have made, as I discovered this breathtaking region in its most vulnerable and authentic state. The villages were uncrowded, their tourist shops were almost all closed, and I chanced to uncover their true face and history.

While wandering around this fairy tale, I noticed it was not as perfect as I had imagined. Indeed, there seemed to be cracks and holes on the unbalanced road, beautiful but annoyed street cats, and broken old chimneys.

The only human souls that walked around were some of the inhabitants of the unique Trullo buildings, shopping in their local supermarket or smoking a cigarette at the corner of an empty street.

The clouds, black and white elements, and little old-fashioned houses may have given a gloomy atmosphere to my visit, but the contrary happened. I sensed that the authenticity, silence, and imperfections only added to the feeling that this place was what I was looking for and that everything felt and fell into place.

For once, no one had put on any makeup or fake smiles or applied any filters. Everything and everyone agreed to shyly and courageously uncover their true self in a fast-moving world continuously looking for perfection.