We had a blast staying at Cristina's. There is no place like it. We looked at the photos and went "Oh yeah, let's do it." First of all, the space is vast. The main room, which is enormous, has sky high vaulted ceilings hand-painted (along with the walls) with cherubs and all manner of imaginary folk. Three pairs of very tall double doors, with beautiful drapes, lead out onto a fancy ironwork balcony. A spacious round-table dining room, very nice kitchen and bathroom. Cristina left us delicious cookies and a bottle of local rosato in the fridge. This street is super active during the day - full of people who know and call out to each other with gusto. If you're sensitive to the noises of life lived robustly, bring your ear plugs. Cristina's is no more than a 10-minute walk to anywhere in the old town you'd want to go, include the public parking at the port. A couple of things we loved about Gallipoli: the beach has crystal clear beautiful water, wonderful to swim in. The downstairs terrazza at Il Bastione is right on the water and a perfect spot to dine and watch the sunset. A cocktail bar named BLANC has become our favorite bar in Italy, and maybe the world. We highly recommend staying at Cristina's if the idea of living a few days in the lap of history appeals to you. It's a unique and fascinating place, untouched by IKEA, which suited us fine.