Apulia - The heel of the boot

In June 2023 I travelled together with my husband to the far south of Italy, the region what is called Apulia or Puglia. We flew to Brindisi and rented a car to trip around for a week long and to discover the area. We stayed at two different places, masserias, to avoid too long daytrips and distances. Here is our story.

During the stay in our first accomodation we visit Monopoli and Polignano a Mare; two lovely coastal villages with cosy corners, alleys and shops full of ceramics and local artisanal products. In Monopoli we make a walk around the old harbor Porto Antico where bright blue-painted fishing boats glitter in the sun. We continue our route inland and arrive at Locorotondo; a city dominating the Valle d'Itria from high above. On our way to reach Locorotondo we cross the  countryside of Apulia through fields with poppies and here and there we observe already the first trulli; the typical small round houses. Who says trulli must think immediately at Alberobello, the capital of the trulli in Apulia and declared Unesco World Heritage Site thanks to the hundreds of trulli you can find here. The small white houses with a conic roof are the symbol of Apulia and most photogenic. That is on our program for the next day.

Alberobello is really photogenic and my camera is making overtime. We decide to first take a look in the lesser popular part of the village. It's more quiet, not the big crowds of tourists and that is a good plan. Here you can walk and photograph the lovely scenery and architecture of the houses without people what I like very much. Of course after that we walk to the more touristic part with shops and restaurants and more of that gorgeous trulli.

On our way back we make a stopover in Martina Franca, situated between the Ionic and Adriatic Sea. Here again cobbed streets, alleys, white painted houses with wrought iron balconnies full of laundry. At some doors elderly people sit in front of their house watching come and go. We visit the baroc basilic near the Pizza Plebiscito. The rest of the afternoon we relax at the swimmingpool of the masseria.

The next day we check out and leave this area. In the evening we arrive at our second accomodation of this holliday. On the way to the south, still crossing the Valle d'Itria; we visit Cisternino. We stroll around through cosy alleys filled of white painted houses with bright colored shutters and flowers. Next stop is Ostuni, a very well known small city in Apulia. We walk to the domechurch and enjoy the mediterranean atmosphere in this place. The many white chalked houses are each of them small gems; some of them grown with abundant blooming pink bougainvilla. Many of the houses have blue-painted shutters and for a moment we think we are on the Cyclades Islands in Greece. At the Piazza della Liberta we enjoy our daily gelato (icecream) and then it's time to drive further to the second masseria where we gonna stay. Just in time for a refreshing dive into the swimming pool.

Our visit to Lecce starts in the rain next morning when we leave the masseria. Until we arrive in Lecce it stops with raining so first thing we do is a visit to the nice baroc domechurch at the Piazza Duomo. Lecce counts many churches and a beautiful other one we see is the Chiesa di San Matteo. But also the ruins of a big Roman amphitheatre are a must see. Here in Lecce also many shops filled with ceramics and artisanal products from the region. From Lecce we continue again our way in the direction of the coast and we end up at Otranto. We walk up through steep alleys until we come to a viewpoint where we have a panoramic sight over the marina and the sea. Later on we sip our aperitif at a terrace near the waterside.

To end this roadtrip Apulia we make a daytrip along the most beautiful beaches of the Ionic coastside. In Porto Cesareo, located in the Gulf of Taranto, we stroll over the market and along the fishing harbor. We enjoy views at the islands Malva and Isola Grande. After this stop we continue to Gallipoli with the many churches like the baroc basilic. On the way back we stop at the Torre Colimena and at the short distance from that we find a few gorgeous rocky beaches.

In the evening we enjoy for the last time a dinner with Apulian specialties. One more night to sleep and then home swet home.