Puglia is located on the heel of the Italian peninsula, is surrounded by the Adriatic & Ionian Seas and is blessed with sun, sea and dramatically changing landscapes. A traveller exploring on foot can enjoy breathtaking sea views, rugged coastal scenery, and vast expanses of ancient olive groves, glistening meadows and abundant crops – everything seemingly untouched by time.
This coastline boasts an ancient strategic importance and a rich historical heritage dating back to the Messapii people, the Greek & Roman civilisations and others seeking passage to the East across the Mediterranean Sea.
Among the highlights of our trip are the famous Trulli houses of Alberobello (UNESCO heritage site). Trulli are limestone rock buildings curiously cone-shaped to insulate against extreme summer heat, harsh winters and allow for the collection of rainwater.
Our journey in Puglia covers the most beautiful and interesting areas and starts on the Adriatic coast with visits to the little sea port of Trani and to Frederic II’s imperial castle, Castel del Monte (UNESCO heritage site). We visit the beautiful historic town of Lecce known affectionately as the Florence of the South for its decorative baroque architecture. As we travel from the fertile plain of the Tavoliere, across the undulating plateau of the Murge to the dry Salento southern coast, this exciting ecological diversity is punctuated by Bronze Age, Greek and Roman archaeological sites, medieval castles and cathedrals, and unique towns with conical shaped houses. On the southern most tip, we find gems like Gallipoli and Otranto, the spectacular Castellana Caves and to walk in the National Park of Porto Selvaggio. Before ending our beautiful journey we stop to explore the Roman ruins of Egnazia.
Hospitality in Italy almost goes without saying and in Puglia the experience is ‘Trulli’ memorable! Our accommodations are in the region’s traditional Masserie - large fortified agricultural estates scattered all over the region where, during the 19th century, extended families lived and worked the land protected from pirates and brigands. Here we are welcomed with open arms by the locals and fed an abundance of delicious Pugliese specialities favouring ingredients like beans, figs, melons, grapes, olives and a whole variety of particularly delicious cheeses - leaving us satisfied and sometimes a little over-full! No problem, our walks are vigorous and very varied, we go through forests of oak and beech trees, along unspoilt coastlines, and amid a profusion of olive groves, orchards and vineyards – quite sufficient to work up an appetite for each feast!
Itinerary
Day 1
Bari airport - Matera
We rendezvous at 14.00 at Bari airport and travel just a short distance to Matera's Sassi, the best surviving and most complete examples of rock-cut settlement in the Mediterranean region. They have been developed in close harmony with the natural environments. The caves here have been used since prehistoric mes. At first they were bare caves, later these developed into house-like structures.
Day 2
Castel del Monte - Trani
13th century Swabian castle of Frederick II at Castel del Monte, (a UNESCO world heritage site) one of the most sophisticated secular buildings of the middle ages. We also stop in the small mercantile port town of Trani to visit the beautiful 12th century Norman Duomo and enjoy its unique setting by the sea. We continue to the outskirts of Ostuni where we stay in our first charmingly restored farmhouse - Masseria.
Day 3
Ostuni, Caves, Hermitages and Mediterranean vegetation
Following mule trails and dry stone walls we head out into century old olives groves, pass abandoned farmhouses and enjoy extensive views of the Adriatic sea as we climb gently to reach the hermitage of San Biagio for a picnic lunch. Time permitting we visit a museum cave to see the skeleton of a prehistoric pregnant woman (24000 years old). Evening excursion to historic Ostuni. Known as La Citta Bianca, a beautiful little town full of narrow alleyways and whitewashed houses. (3hrs/8miles)
Day 4
Lecce and the Prehistoric monuments of Giurdignano
We drive south to the Salento peninsula visit the historic city of Lecce, famous for its ornate 17th & 18th century Baroque architecture and a Roman amphitheatre & theatre and statue of S. Oronzo perched on a column taken from the Appian Way. After lunch we continue to Otranto and the megalithic gardens of Giurdignano, an ancient sacred area with Menhirs (upright stone monuments), Dolmen (tombs) and pre-Christian crypts. This is the highest concentration of prehistoric stone monuments in Italy – a truly fascinating end to the day. We stay in Otranto, the most eastern town in Italy with a fascinating Byzantine history.
Day 5
Otranto & Porto Badisco
Otranto was a prosperous trading port between Mediterranean Europe and Asia Minor. In 1481 the Ottoman Turks crossed the narrow straights, attacked and slaughtered most of the population. The bones are kept in the Duomo, which has an amazing floor with a Byzantine mosaic portraying the tree of life. Our walk is along a dramatic coastline passing cliffs crowned by ancient watch towers, an emerald green lake formed in an abandoned Bauxite quarry. According to Homer, on route to Rome, Aeneas landed in Porto Badisco a beautiful cove with aqua marine reflections in the sea.
Day 6
Gallipoli & Parco Regionale Porto Selvaggio
Starting at the Uluzzo tower, built in 1563 to defend against Turkish invasions, we follow another coastal trail in the Porto Selvaggio park. As we walk we come across stone mounds (Specchie) which are the ruins of watch towers built by the Messapi people in the 5th century BC and pass an unusual lagoon phenomenon known as Palude del Capitano. There is usually time for a gelato reward in Gallipoli a charming little harbour town with a Moorish Kasbah, medieval fortress and built on an island connected to the mainland by bridge.
Day 7
Grotte Castellane - Alberobello
Visit underground world of stalagmites, stalactites, natural sculptures and caverns at the Grotte Castellane. The total underground walk is 2 miles and the White Cave is reputed to be the most beautiful in the world. After a relaxing picnic lunch we make our way through the Murge dei Trulli a landscape of olive groves, orchards, vines and trulli. The highest concentration of these buildings is in Alberobello where in the oldest neighbourhood we can visit the only trulli church dedicated to St. Antonio.(3hrs/8miles)
Day 8
Egnazia and departure from Bari airport
Morning excursion to Egnazia (ancient Gnathia) an important archaeological site with Roman and Messapian finds. There are mosaic
floors, an amphitheatre, basilica and the Via Traiana, which still preserves the original polygonal limestone blocks and deep wheel
ruts made by the chariots and carts of the people who passed this way over 2000 years ago, including people like Virgil and Horatio
in 38bc. Departure from Bari airport.
