Discovery of Puglia – Private itinerary

Early afternoon meet and greet with your tour leader directly at your hotel in Alberobello for a brief meeting and welcome dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Today you will start to discover this mysterious and fascinating region of Italy. First, you will enjoy a guided tour of Alberobello, a village of one thousand fairytales – like “Trulli”, round white houses dry buildings with tall conical roofs listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your guide will explain their mysterious origins and why people continue to build them. Proceed to a farm near Martina Franca for a tasting of local cheese at a “Masseria”, a typical Apulian farm, along with a light lunch. Continue on to Bari, known as the “Gateway to the East” due to its long tradition of trade. Among the many beauties you will see there is the Basilica of St. Nicholas, one of the most striking and significant religious buildings in Italy. It is dedicated to St Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint and bishop who, according to the legend, is the one and only Santa Claus. Return to your hotel and overnight.

After breakfast, reach Lecce that presents and architectural feast. An ancient settlement of the Messapii tribes, it is the principal Baroque city of Apulia. This morning our local guide will bring this and more to light. After some free time to relax and lunch, continue on to Ostuni, the White Town, perched on a hill overlooking the Adriatic Sea. The town is reputed to have been originally established around 1000 BC by the Messapii, a pre-classic tribe. Return to your hotel and overnight.

After breakfast, head North into the Basilicata region to visit Matera, a rare jewel, an ancient symbol of a sustainable way of life and an enchanting miracle of time. The city resembles a small nativity scene, which is why it is known as “the second Bethlehem”, providing a backdrop for films such as Pier Paolo Pasolini’s The Gospel according to St. Matthew and Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Spectacularly carved out of tuff, the “Sassi” of Matera, inhabited since paleolithic age, lets you relive history. After free time for lunch, return to the Apulia region and stop for a visit to Castel del Monte, a 13th century citadel and castle listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Because of its relatively small size, it was once considered to be no more than a hunting lodge, but scholars now believe it originally had a curtain wall and did serve as a citadel. Castel del Monte’s geometric design is unique, the fortress is an octagonal prism with an octagonal tower at each corner. Central to the plot of Umberto’s Eco novel The Name of the Rose is an old fortress almost certainly inspired by Castel del Monte. Return to Alberobello and overnight.

After breakfast, depart to Locorotondo nestled in the Itria Valley and whose evocative name anticipates its conformation. From the various vantage points, you can enjoy the typical rural landscape characterized by “casedde”, Masserie, and small trulli. In the historical centre, organized with concentric lanes, the low houses with pointed roofs and whitewashed walls (the cummerse, originally to fight the sun and the plague) have become over time the very symbol of the village. Continue to a local farm for a wine tasting along with a light lunch. Afterwards, continue to Martina Franca, a baroque city that enjoys splendid views of the Itria Valley, among rows of vines, woods, and centuries-old olive trees. Merely entering the ancient village ensures you are immersed in a magical and graceful atmosphere, with its narrow streets, its alleys, the stately buildings, and the majestic and monumental churches, in which masterpieces of art are preserved (for this reason, Martina is a “City of Art and Culture”), made so by the painters, sculptors, and marble workers of the Neapolitan School of the eighteenth century. Return to your hotel and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Today, enjoy a cooking class to discover local recipes at a Masseria. Immerse yourself in local culture as you prepare a traditional Italian meal under the guidance of an Italian certified cook. Meet your host, get hands-on in the kitchen as you make some typical dishes, and pick up tips and techniques to help you recreate them back home. Finally, enjoy a delicious lunch accompanied by wine. Return to your hotel, relax, and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Today you will travel to the Gargano area. First you will reach Vieste. Your guide will welcome you and together you will walk through the streets of the center full of dyes and shops. The entrance to the historic center is clearly defined by an ancient door and a staircase that leads us inside the beautiful city cathedral. After admiring it you will go out through a side door and enter the historic center where small, narrow, and picturesque streets alternate with terraces overlooking the sea where the gaze extends to the edge of the horizon, and you will return to the historic center again to then reopen your eyes before the famous stack known as Pizzomunno, a block of very white stone around which a romantic legend is told. Then proceed to Peschici, where you will begin the guided tour of the historic center. The main point of interest in Peschici is certainly the historic center, which is located within medieval walls interspersed with towers, still visible. Downstream you will find the characteristic small port, the long sandy bay, and continuing northwards a rocky ridge with a pine forest and the characteristic “Tower of Monte Pucci” which separates you from the bay of Calenelle and San Menaio. You will end this experience in Peschici enjoying the sunset from one of the Trabucchi, a type of traditional wooden fishing machine, accompanied by an aperitif.

After breakfast, your journey through the marvelous region of Apulia ends.