Puglia and Basilicata

Puglia is the heel of the boot, on the extreme south. It’s an enchanting region, a strip of land that stretches into the sea with wonderful beaches for every kind of taste, from the sandy one to the rocky shores, where the Ionian sea – crystal clear and calm – and the Adriatic sea – with a deep blue color, meet and mix up. Nature, also in Puglia, is the main actor: there’s the sea and different national parks, wild forests, salt pans and lakes.

Many places and cities tell about the ancient origins of this land: from the prehistory to the Magna Graecia, from the imperial age to the Renaissance, to the Baroque splendors of Lecce and Salento.

Trulli, like the Alberobello ones, are an extraordinary example of Italian, traditional architecture offering an evocative proof of the rural past of the region, while numerous castles enhance the Southern coasts. For those instead who love traditions and folk music, the village feasts and festivals, that move from a village to another during the summertime livening up this beautiful region, are not to be missed.

On the Western border, there’s the small region of Basilicata, renowned for its sassi di Matera included in the UNESCO world heritage list. Today it is possible to see the original core of the Sassi and the houses dug into the rock, locally called tufo, feeling the unique sensation of being in a nativity scene. The Matera’s incredible scenery was the background of many more or less popular movies, both Italian and foreigner, such as Mel Gibson’s “The Passion”.