About Apulia

Apulia: among olive groves, breathtaking seaviews and art treasures

      
A unique natural landscape, incredible art treasures, ancient traditions, delicious regional cuisine. At the end of your visit, you'll end up wondering: “Why did I wait so long?”

Apulia has always been the European gateway to the East. Ancient Greeks colonized the area as part of their Magna Grecia (greater Greece). Later, the Romans built large paved roads to facilitate commercial traffic. In the middle ages, it was the starting point for the crusades.

Apulia is indeed one of the most ancient and noble provinces in Italy. Traces of its reach past are sccattered all over: Dolmens and Menhirs, the charming mystery of Castel del Monte, the cathedral on the sea in Trani, the majestic cathedrals in Ruvo di Puglia, Otranto (famous for its rich mosaic floor) and Ostuni; the Matera’s stones (Sassi di Matera) and the Trulli in Alberobello, the labyrinths of the old towns of Bari (Bari vecchia), Gallipoli and Taranto and the baroque treasures in Lecce.

What can be said about the “oddities of nature”? Castellana and Putignano offer some of the most breathtaking cave experiences, as are the marine caves of Zinzulusa and Polignano a Mare; the deep canyons of the so called “gravine” (Gravina di Puglia), or the many “lame” (fences) filled with alluvial deposits that stretch from the Murge area to the seaside and break what would otherwise be an extensive plain.

Apulia is also a land of spectacular seas with Caribbean like waters, such as the Salento Jonico area. Just terrific.

The local cuisine, based on vegetables and legumes, is very distinctive. Some of its specialties are now a must: the “orecchiette alle cime di rapa” (an ear-shaped thick pasta with overturned tops), the “taralli”, the “purè di fave con verdure” (mashed broad beans with vegetables), the “burrata” and the “stracciata” (two cheese specialties), the typical focaccia bread. Not to forget the delicacies, based on fresh and cooked fish and lobsters.

The wine is strictly red “primitivo”, an intense wine, rich of the warmth of the sun.

Listening to the locals in a market, talking and shouting: you won’t understand a word (Italians don’t either!), will be a memorable experience.