Puglia
The sun-baked heel of Italy: whitewashed towns, ancient olive groves, Baroque cities and two coastlines.
Puglia forms the heel of Italy's boot, a long, flat region of silver olive groves, whitewashed towns and coastline on both the Adriatic and Ionian seas. Once overlooked, it has become one of Italy's most loved regions — though it still keeps its unhurried southern pace.
Its signatures are the trulli, conical dry-stone houses clustered in Alberobello and the Valle d'Itria; the hilltop white town of Ostuni; and Lecce, worked in soft golden stone into some of the most exuberant Baroque in Italy. Masserie — fortified farmhouses — make characterful places to stay.
What to see and do
- Stay in a restored masseria among the olive groves
- See the trulli of Alberobello and the Valle d'Itria
- Wander Baroque Lecce and whitewashed Ostuni
- Taste new-harvest olive oil at a working mill
- Swim in the sea caves and coves of the coast
When to go
Late spring and early autumn are ideal; the autumn olive harvest is a highlight. Summer is hot and lively along the coast.