PUGLIA HOTELS
MILES OF GRASSY DUNES and silver-green olive groves, burning white sugar-cube towns, intense turquoise-blue waters... that’s Puglia. Washed by the Adriatic on one side and the Ionian Sea on the other, the heel of Italy’s boot still remains remarkably untrodden.
Puglia is home to miles of sweeping coastline. Impressive limestone formations dot the hillsides and coast while inland you can explore the Castellana caves, home to an impressive collection of stalactites and stalagmites.
The region offers an abundance of interesting towns and villages that lend themselves to exploration. Alberobello and Locorotondo are home to entire streets of beehive-roofed Trulli homes, packed cheek-by-cheek along winding streets.
Trullis originated three or four thousand years ago but nobody’s really sure how they came about. Now they attract huge interest from visitors looking for quirky holiday homes, and many have been turned into stunning accommodation. The region is also punctuated with immensely stylish trulli hotels, with adobe-style architecture and Moroccan flourishes.
Bari is the regional capital and consists of a rambling old town – full of striking architecture – a major shopping district for frittering away your Euros, and a busy port from where ferries shuttle off to Greece.
The town of Lecce – the so-called Florence of the Baroque – has a riotously ornate central piazza and narrow lanes perfect for getting lost in. The local sandstone has a slight pink tinge that makes rose tinted glasses redundant and every turn reveals another captivating facade.
Fortified Ostuni, set on three hills rising over the Adriatic, also begs to be seen. It stands proud above rock-fringed beaches, vineyards and olive groves and its dazzling white buildings are picture-worthy at every turn.
Over the years Puglia has been dominated by many a major power, resulting in a diverse mix of buildings and customs. There are cool Baroque churches to gaze upon, pagan dances to watch and archaeological complexes like Canne della Battaglia and Ignazia to explore.
There are many impressive castles and cathedrals to see as well, not to mention miles of coast where instead of jostling with the holiday hordes you can brush shoulders with the locals.
Like most other Italians, Puglians have a near obsessive love for food and take great pride in their local specialities. Puglia produces more olive oil than the rest of Italy and more wine than Germany. Spend time enjoying these as well as locally made pastas, soft cheeses and every kind of fruit you can imagine.
If you still have room after all that sit in the sunshine and sample one of the potent local wines, or join the locals for a latte di mandorla – iced coffee with almond syrup. Go in high summer to guarantee a tan or in late spring to see the carpets of flowers
