Among the ancient papier-mâché workshops in unusual Lecce

Extraordinary experiences can happen in Lecce. It can happen to walk, in addition to the alleys overlooked by the Lecce stone buildings with their Baroque decorations, a street named after theArt of papier-mâché.

ùAnother way to get in touch with the cultural and artistic heritage of the capital of Salento is in fact the realizations obtained with sheets of overlapping paper and glue.

It is not a game at all, the works do not resemble, or at least they are not all similar to those we are used to knowing. These are not the figures that parade in Viareggio or Putignano during the Carnival period, they are not just caricatured forms, although nothing is to be taken away from that expression of human creativity.

Those who work and produce true works of art are not improvisers, mere amateurs of glue and paper. In the workshops of Lecce, it is not difficult to come across people who have inherited from their fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers the gift of knowing how to create from nothing objects of a somewhat retro beauty (to which the influence of Neapolitan Baroque and Rococo contributes so much), yet capable of communicating to generations born in the age of technology and social media.

Le Lecce's first papier-mâché statues date back perhaps to the 17th century, figures from the Christian tradition that were to be paraded during processions, in localities around Lecce, as well as in the capital city. Very light statues, therefore easy to hold on the shoulder for the duration of the popular event.

Today other techniques are used to make those artifacts, but the master papier-mâché makers endure; it can be very inspiring, during a stay in Lecce, to go in search of some old workshops. Workshops that overlook the street and whose works are partly placed on the pavement, to make a beautiful display.

Not only figures belonging to the sacred, but also characters from everyday life. Crafts and professions, papier-mâché inventions that come from distant centuries, enriched with the present. Some of these objects seem to possess a soul made of wood or even bronze. But this is just an illusion: at most, there is wire or straw under the papier-mâché.

The people of Lecce have dedicated not only a street but also a museum to this art. Fine craftsmanship and beautiful workmanship. The Papier Mâché Museum is located in the heart of the city, in the Carlo V Castle. A poor art that presents such a richness of form and light that one might mistake papier-mâché for ceramics. The Salento tradition meets in the halls of the Castle, between one figure and another shaped magnificently to give joy to the beholder, to pass on a very ancient knowledge. The gaze of every tourist, of every traveler passing through Lecce helps to keep those figures alive, incorruptible in effect in the harmony they emanate. In the Museum one can even witness the birth of a papier-mâché masterpiece through participation in special workshops.

And if you are a lover of unusual routes, Rosy Smart City Tours has the right idea for you: the Lecce unusual private tour. A ninety-minute walk through the alleys of the historic center, among the hidden folds of the history and daily life of the Salento city. Ninety minutes of discovery, among old-fashioned gates and ancient coats of arms, historic bars and papier-mâché and ceramic workshops. Not only that, through the Tour, Lecce unveils its truest face, far from the busiest circuits and in the heart of that authenticity that papier-mâché works represent very well.