Italy's Sunlit Heel of Olives and Stone
Puglia, known in English as Apulia, is the long southeastern region forming the heel of Italy, bordered by the Adriatic Sea to the east and the Ionian Sea to the south. It is known for ancient olive groves, whitewashed hill towns, baroque architecture, farm stays called masserie and a coastline of roughly 800 kilometres. The landscape is generally gentle and open, with low stone walls, red earth and silvery trees, and the light is among the brightest in Italy, which is why it flatters both architecture and food so beautifully.
Heritage here is on a grand scale. The conical dry-stone trulli of Alberobello and the octagonal Castel del Monte, built under Emperor Frederick II, were both inscribed by UNESCO in 1996. Lecce, nicknamed the Florence of the South, glows in honey-coloured baroque stone, while Ostuni, the White City, tumbles down its hill. Along the coast, Polignano a Mare perches on limestone cliffs above clear water, and the Gargano peninsula in the north adds forest, sea caves and pilgrimage routes.
Orecchiette, Burrata and a Table of Simple Perfection
Puglian food is a quiet triumph of ingredients. Orecchiette with cime di rapa is the signature dish, and creamy burrata, local olive oil, ripe tomatoes, raw seafood, focaccia barese and fried street snacks complete a cuisine built on simplicity. The region's wines, notably Primitivo and Negroamaro, have won a devoted following, and masseria stays often serve dinners made from produce grown on the estate, which gives a stay here a genuinely sensory, farm-to-table character.
Bari, the regional capital, mixes a lively old town with the basilica of San Nicola, while Brindisi and Taranto add maritime history. Travellers drawn to the deep south of the heel can continue to Otranto and the Salento coast, or cross the Strait to Sicily for a longer Italian journey. A hotel group or boutique masseria operator could use Puglia to showcase slow, rural luxury, with olive-grove pools and long communal tables.
Read the full Puglia guide on Visit Travel Group, or see VisitPuglia.co.uk on Visit Travel Group.