On our last day in Lecce we checked out the modern art at Museo Storico Citta di Lecce, aka MUST. It is a pretty space with art spread out over a number of small rooms. The special collection on display reminded me of Jackson Pollock.

Later in the day we returned to our apartment on the piazza where we noted something new, a cupola was being assembled. Hmm, what is this? I searched online for the calendar of Lecce festivities, and there are a lot, both religious and secular, but I did not find anything, my efforts hindered by my shortage of Italiano.

Later in the afternoon the lights on the cupola came on and musicians filled the platform. Guitarist, horn player, singer, drummer, etc. Also on hand were a sound engineer sitting at a large computer screen, plus amplifiers and speakers.

The musicians played two songs, a Led Zepplin, Stairway to Heaven, and a Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah, a combo that worked surprisingly well. Then there was quiet. The musicians disappeared.

Much later the musicians returned, they started playing, and the piazza filled with people. They played into the night, keeping us awake until early morning with music, nice music, though not peaceful relaxing sleep-inducing music, no soothing violins, no Mozart, no Keith Jarrett. It was, it turns out, music for movies, a strong beat, loud horns and guitars, all pumped via a mass of amplifiers to large speakers that threatened deafness when approached, music that could be heard from space. How do musicians and music engineers avoid deafness, I wondered. So loud our apartment, an old stone structure, a building that likely predates most in Canada, this substantial apartment shook and vibrated.

And so our spacious apartment, with its entertaining view, bound at street level with tasty cafes and a pasticceria with killer cookies, has a downside, it is next door to a concert venue that can go all night long, even when you are hoping for many hours of sleep in preparation for a busy morning, a 7am train, first class admittedly, a train culminating in a short walk through a slightly dicey neighborhood, one we've experienced, the last time there we found just passing through we came out with our bag zippers opened, how do they do that without us noticing, like magicians.

So while there are positives to having an apartment overlooking the city's main square, there is also a negative as iwe were kept awake until early morning with music, and not relaxing sleep-inducing music, no soothing violins, no Mozart, no Keith Jarrett, no jazz, instead it was music for movies perhaps, a strong beat, loud horns and guitars, all pumped via a mass of amplifiers to huge speakers that threatened deafness when approached, that could be heard from space, how do the musicians and music engineers avoid deafness I wonder. So loud our apartment, an old stone building, a structure that likely predates most in Canada, is in a building that can shake, pulsate, even vibrate.

And so our spacious apartment, with a killer view, bound at street level with tasty cafes, has a downside, it is next door to a concert venue that can go all night long, even when you are hoping for a night of sleep in prep for a busy morning, a 7am train, first class admittedly, a train culminating in a walk through a maybe dicey neighborhood, one we've experienced, the last time there we found just passing through piazza Garibaldi we came out with our bag zippers opened, how do they do that without us noticing, like magicians perhaps?