Also known by its Roman name Apulia, the unspoilt Puglia region stretches from the spur of the Gargano peninsula to the heel of Italy’s boot. The region boasts unspoiled gently undulating plateaux with forests, medieval pilgrimage towns, massive fortresses and fortress-like churches. With its gorgeous beaches, forests, historical sites and wonderful wine, Puglia holidays are second to none.
Puglia in Italy’s southeast boasts beautiful beaches, golden sands, pine forests, undulating countryside with groves of olive and almond, and fantastic food. Although the region appears exclusively Italian, it has a rich cosmopolitan past with Greeks, Germans, Spaniards, Moors and Normans having bequeathed a delightful combination of architectural heirlooms including baroque churches and Romanesque cathedrals.
The area boasts links to ancient times when construction techniques used for the famous whitewashed trulli houses were imported from Greece or the Middle East. Our stunning range of hotels in this region ensures complete luxury on your Puglia holidays. Visitors will enjoy staying in a masseria, grand restored country farmhouses and mansions; and Lecce, the Florence of the South with its Roman amphitheatre, is a must-see.
Trulli & Masseria
Our featured hotels in Puglia are situated close to Alberobello, itself equidistant from the airports of Bari and Brindisi. Alberobello is a delightful agricultural town famed as the centre of the whitewashed trulli; coneshaped houses with russet or grey dry-stone spiral roofs that dot the landscape.
Visitors will delight in discovering Alberobello’s two neighbourhoods of trulli, Rioni Monti and Aia Piccola: both areas are protected World Heritage Sites and feature houses, shops and even churches constructed in true trulli style: shopkeepers will often let you climb onto their roof terraces for striking views across the fairytale forest of more than a thousand trulli domes.
Boasting vineyards and olive groves, pine forests and gently undulating countryside, this central Puglia region is dotted with small towns and villages rich in history, culture and folklore. With these picturesque villages there are plenty of quaint, traditional places to visit on holidays in Puglia.
Typically, our featured hotels in this area are delightfully restored traditional style former country estates and farmhouses locally known as masseria. Luxury romantic masseria often feature courtyards and cloisters, and large airy lounges perfect for relaxation. They charmingly combine traditional rural styles with high standards of service, warm Italian hospitality and delicious cuisine using fine fresh produce grown in their own organic vegetable gardens.
Cuisine
The strong sun and fertile land produces intensely flavoured olives, vegetables and fruit, such as melon and figs, in abundance. In fact most of the country’s pasta is produced here, and much of Italy’s olive oil pressing is carried out in the region. Additionally, most of Italy’s fresh fish is caught along the coast, and due to the climate and ideal soil conditions, Puglia produces so much wine that it is the world’s sixth biggest wine producing region: wines from the southern peninsula where Negroamaro is blended with a host of grape varieties are the most noteworthy. The fantastic cuisine is certainly a worthy feature of Puglia holidays.
The traditional Pugliese diet was originally centred on bread, oil and wine, and although the cuisine is now more sophisticated, it is still based on local ingredients. There’s no industrialisation of food in Puglia: it is never processed, and is simply fresh and delicious with the merest hint of influences from Greece. There is therefore, no doubt that on holidays in Puglia you will be assured of the highest level of quality and service in everything you do.