Charming Puglia

That’s what it said in the advertisement….and it is true ! This is a region in the southern part of Italy which isn’t very well known to mainstream tourism. One of the reasons which makes it so special! This is where Italians spend their holidays.

There are beaches for the beachbums, «spiaggas» where they have beachchairs, showers, umbrellas and restaurants, or discover deserted coves with crystal clear blue water. On the highway south you drive past olive trees for miles and miles, past olive groves with olive trees that are more than a thousand years old, with stems so thick you need three people to embrace them. There are tiny white walled towns on hilltops, looking out over the landscape and down to the sea, with narrow alleys going up and down, left and right, till you don’t know which way you are heading or if you prefer… there are flashy cities with incredibly beautiful buildings and churches ( to be honest they have tons of those) and modern shops. Or would you prefer small ports with cute little harbours filled with fishing boats in different shades of blue. It’s your choice, the options are endless.

We flew to Bari, which is serviced from lots of European cities and rented a car. A navigation system is recommendable! First stop was Monopoli, yes, named just as in the game ! I fell in love with this quaint little town, it is just the way I expected  Italy to be. The old town, the centro storico, is definitely worth exploring. There are lots of little alleys, dozens of shops, many cool bars and great restaurants to choose from, gelaterias where you get huge and delicious italian ice cream for under 2 Euro or maybe just a sensational coffee?  The town has a narrow beach and a cute little harbour where we found a great bar called Punta de Vista. Sitting in the slowly setting sun we sipped our prosecco’s and watched half of the towns population walk by. This is the dolce vita, just as it should be.

Just north of Monopoli is Polignano a Mare, another cute little town with a beautiful centro storico and a famous beach. The beach is tiny and perched between cliffs. The younger and braver locals dive down from half way up the cliffs into water that lights up in different shades of blue, turkois and green.

The houses on top of the cliffs are towering over the beach making it seem even smaller and even more « squeezed in » than it already is. This doesn’t stop the locals from visiting, it is filled to the brim, and I am guessing not just today. From the main road through town you can look down onto the beach, this is so popular with all visitors that road blocks are common. It almost looks better from above, but climbing all the way down to take a selfie at the rocky beach  or to put your feet in the water is a matter of honour.

About 45min drive landinwards is the town of Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is famous for its Trulli houses. They dot the landscape all around the town, but a whole cluster of them are in the town centre, which is where all the tourist go, they look real cute, the houses I mean. Jürg said the round white washed little houses with their thatched roofs, look like the South African rondavels, making it an international affair.

There are dozens of these round houses and in most of them are shops, more often than not selling cheap junk. If you take your time you will find some real gems selling local products like pasta, olive oil, sausages, wines, cheeses and more. It is a very touristy place but definitely worth a visit. Just make sure you pay for your parking or you will end up paying a fine, they are very strict and controlling the place all the time. Believe me it isn’t easy reading a parking ticket if your Italian is as lousy as mine.

We moved on from Monopoli to Torre Canne and stayed at the stylish Canne Bianche Hotel which I can definitely recommend ! From there we visited Ostuni, the white town on the hil with streets lined with oleander trees, not just bushes as we have them at home, no, down here they are so big they are trees. Beautiful mansions with huge carved wooden doors line the road. There are lots of winding streets, of course with lots of touristy shops and restaurants leading up to the chapel at the highest point of town, and a big central square with church and statue and all. Look around and leave the main road leading up, do explore the narrower side alleys, its fun !

My favourite trip was to the Masseria Brancata. We drove by and found the gates closed so we asked at the hotel and they booked us a guided tour for the next day. The Masseria, an old farm house beautifully renovated and well kept, is one of the few which has not turned into a luxury hotel. The owner has kept it « in working order », it is almost a small museum and we now know all about “vergine” and “extra vergine”, about how the romans planned the olive plantations, each tree being 18 m from the next, and in neat rows. That is how you recognise the very old plantations, the younger ones have the trees much closer together. We learned about pressing and harvesting, and after the tasting, and buying 😉, we had to go and take some more photo’s. It is hard to find a way to give credit to this incredible landscape, and these incredibly beautiful ancient trees, we tried our best.

Two more recommendable towns are Locorotondo, a little east of Alberobello and Lecce which is about an hours drive south. Lecce is also called the Florence of the south with splendid barock buildings and churches, and an archeological site in the centre of town, combining old and new. The old amphitheater is now used for concerts and theatre.

Locorotondo is cute and not as overrated and overflowing with tourists (even if they are mostly Italian), as its famous neighbour. We had a sensational lunch there and it was truly fun to sit with the locals and Italian guests and be the only one who doesn’t speak Italian. We always found some helpful friendly person who could translate for us, or help out with a few words of  english. The people we met, in every place and town we visited, were always so very, very friendly and helpful. This is a region many people will like. Good thing it is still a well kept secret !

copyright photo and text : Astrid Blümel for bluemelphoto.ch