Otranto Weekly Market (Mercato del Giovedì)
Every Thursday morning the streets around Via Vittorio Emanuele and the new-town grid fill with stalls selling everything from sun-dried figs and local cheeses to handmade linen and ceramic-tile souvenirs. It is the most authentic slice of everyday Salentine life you will find in a town that otherwise caters heavily to tourists.
What to Buy
Head straight for the food vendors at the market's core: look for pittule (fried dough puffs) sold warm in paper cones, rounds of aged pecorino from nearby farms, and jars of local olive oil pressed from the gnarled centuries-old trees you will see lining every road out of town.
Dried fichi mandorlati — figs stuffed with almonds and dried in the Salento sun — make the ideal edible souvenir. Buy them loose by weight from the older vendors rather than in pre-packaged tourist versions.
Beyond the Food
The non-food stalls carry inexpensive ceramics in the bold yellow, green and blue palette typical of Lecce and Grottaglie, as well as lightweight linen shirts and dresses perfectly suited to the Pugliese heat.
Arrive by 08:30 to see the market at its liveliest and to get first pick of the best produce; by noon the stalls begin to pack away and the spell is broken.
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