Puglia overview

Puglia has a real fairytale quality to it. It truly is unique. Puglia is situated in the heel of Italy and has historically been the hideaway holiday destination of the well heeled Northern Italians. Nowadays, more of us are discovering this hidden gem. Puglia is the only place in Italy where the 'trulli houses' are found. These have 1 or 2 rounded rooms with distinctive conical grey tiled roofs and are quite charming. The town of Alberobello is home to their greatest concentration. Lecce, further south, is known as the Florence of the South and has amazing Baroque architecture. Matera is fascinating, home to the 'Sassi' stone houses carved directly into the rocks. Mel Gibson thought so too, The Passion of the Christ was filmed here. Puglia has the highest concentration of olive trees in Italy, producing over 70% of Italy's olive oil. Many of the imposing farmhouses have been converted into boutique hotels, and offer great food and wine. Much of the produce is from their own gardens, indeed a number of them offer cookery courses to learn how to cook the many local specialities.