The Ultimate Puglia Travel Guide: Magical Places You Can’t Miss

Puglia. Sounds like a tasty curly pasta. And while they definitely do pasta quite well, Puglia (or Apulia as they call it), is actually a lesser known region in the ‘heel’ of the boot of Italy. It stretches on the south-eastern portion of Italy’s peninsula for almost 600 miles of coastline, and it is rapidly becoming a less-kept travel secret, and more of a ‘Why haven’t I been there yet?!?!’ destination.

With it’s cliffside villages, white washed architecture, sprawling farmland, and crystal aqua Mediterranean seaside, it’s slowly becoming a more popular travel destination for those wanting to experience Italy’s small town charms, rich history and culture, and of course, its decadent food.

Since my Father was born in Italy, and most of my family on his side still lives here, I have been to Italy probably nearly 20 times in my life. But I have always visited my relatives on the Western Coast of the southern side, and had never before crossed the threshold into the South-Eastern coastline. Well, it was about time!! So in May of 2022, after visiting with my family in Salerno, Cisco and I rented a car to make the short journey to the other side of the boot.

It was only appropriate that we started our trip through Puglia in the oldest city of Italy… and one of the oldest in the World, Matera. Matera is technically not part of Puglia, but belongs to the region called Basilicata, but it is a stone’s throw from the Puglia area, and very easy to access both from Puglia, and the Western coast, Salerno, from where we were coming.

You can fly into Bari to visit Matera, but we were already coming from the west. About a two and a half hour drive from Salerno, (which is in itself, a beautiful and interesting city to visit, and the gateway to the famed Amalfi Coast), Matera was on the way to our selected destinations in Puglia. We stopped there for just two nights. And it was incredible!

Matera was once called the ‘Shame of Italy’ around the 1950’s (more on that below), but now it is a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site— home to beautiful boutique cave hotels and wonderful restaurants, museums and craft shops, and it also provided the location and backdrop for huge Hollywood blockbusters like The Passion of the Christ, which helped put a spotlight on the forgotten area.

Matera is the third oldest (inhabited) city in the World. Almost 10,000 years ago, in the Paleolithic Era, people began occupying the caves that dotted the hillside. They eventually built structures into and surrounding the caves, and these cave dwelling complexes were called Sassi. The ancient Sassi structures included incredible churches as well as homes. However, starting in the late 1800’s, families were crowding into these caves and living in squalor and disgusting conditions. They were unhygienic, poverty stricken slums, and by the 1950’s, the Italian government finally stepped in and evicted the families from these cave dwellings, providing them newer, government-subsidized housing that was being built around the perimeter of Matera’s old town. The old town and cave dwellings sat nearly empty for 30 years, when finally in the 1980’s some business owners asked permission to transform the caves into restaurants and bed & breakfasts, hoping to draw tourists who wanted to see the historically significant location of one of the World’s oldest cities. Since then, Matera had been transformed and made famous by huge films such as Passion of the Christ and recently, James Bond, in No Time to Die.

Cisco and I stayed in a gorgeous, renovated cave-house bed and breakfast (called Le Dimora dell’ Idris), underneath the famous Madonna de Idris stone church, where others had also slept, 9,000+ years ago, and where just outside our door were the most beautiful views of this magical, ancient city….

After a tasty breakfast in Matera, we headed out early to our next multi-day desintaion, Locorotondo, but leaving ample time to stop on the way to explore the extremely picturesque town of Alberobello, home of the unique Trulli houses…

You know you’re approaching Alberobello when the houses by the roadside start to look like perfect little gumdrops…

We left Alberobello in the late afternoon, said goodbye to the trulli, and headed just 10 minutes south down the road to our next town… Locorotondo…

Locorotondo (which means ’round place’), has been named by many global publications as one of the prettiest villages in Italy. And it is not hard to see why. Even from an aerial perspective, you can see how neat and quaint the geometrically shaped houses are, with sloped roofs and limestone tiles, which are not characteristic of usual Italian design. The houses are clustered together, but separated by an intricate network of narrow streets, all within a round city shape that the town is named for. It has a certain harmony, and because it is so small (only 14,000 total inhabitants), you can easily walk the entire town in a short amount of time. The winding, slender streets will take you past the most meticulously maintained and groomed house facades with beautifully kept flower embelished entryways, many in a beautiful Baroque style. They alleyways ultimately converge at the central Duomo (Church of the Mother of San Giorgio), located in the heart of the old town.

One of the things though that is so awesome about Locorotondo, is its proximity to a bunch of lovely Puglia towns. It is centrally located in the Puglia countryside, and in addition to being just 10 minutes from Alberobello, it is also a short drive from Cisternino, Martina Franca, and Ostuni– all lovely day trips. It made sense for us to base ourselves in Locorotondo for a few nights, and explore the old town there, in addition to visiting the neighboring villages. I highly recommend making Locorotondo your home base for the area.

And while it really was beautiful, the one thing that made it most special was where we stayed. The only free standing house (not connected by any shared walls) in all of Locorotondo, Dimora d’Epoca 1783, a gorgeous B&B, was amazing down to every detail. If you ever visit Puglia, and you get to stay in only one accommodation, let this be it!! The rooms, accents, and fixtures were all so rustic, elegant and stylish, but extremely comfortable and warm at the same time.

There were three tiers of rooftop terraces, all with beautiful flowers and stunning views of the Duomo. There’s a private elevator that takes you down to the subterranean jacuzzi grotto with waterfall, that changes to all the colors of the rainbow of you want it to. We had it all to ourselves.

But the most wonderful part of this gorgeous place, were the incredible hosts who made us feel so welcome and special. The breakfasts were the best I’ve ever had (a mix of sweet and savory), with so many choices, and all homemade by Rosanna, the housekeeper, who is so sweet and lovely and a mega talent in the kitchen!

We enjoyed the sunset and aperitifs on the roof terraces with Nando, the owner, and he told us how he lovingly renovated and added on to this original 16th century house. Roseanna and Nando have made this place so incredibly special, and their friendly and helpful nature were the icing on the cake.

Nando recommended wonderful restaurants and nearby towns to see, and we loved every minute. We really enjoyed Ostuni, which is about a 30 minute drive, and we loved our dinner at Ai Tre Santi in Locorotondo. So if you go to Puglia, definitely stay at Dimora d’Epoca, and tell them Cisco and I sent you!

We headed to Lecce next, but unfortunately I got quite sick on our way there, and so we did not venture out in this ‘Florence of Southern Italy”, as we had wanted. But, from the tiny bit we walked around our B&B, it is a beautiful city! And the inside of our hotel room (which is where I spent the two days), was lovely! As was the included breakfast on the veranda. We stayed at Dimora San Giuseppe, which was a great value, especially considering its great central location, and huge room!

As we were leaving Lecce two days later, once I was feeling a little better, we were able to see the Grotto Della Poesia, which is about an 18 mile drive, just south of Lecce, on the coast. Even though we were heading north next, to Polignano di Mare, it is definitely worth the slightly out of the way drive to see this stunning grotto…

I didn’t jump in, because I still wasn’t feeling my best, but there were quite a few people swimming in the crystal clear waters. After spending about an hour at the grotto, we headed north along the coast. Along the way to Polignano di Mare, we stopped near Monopoli, to see the Torre Cintola, and the coast by Capitolo, with its beautiful ruins creating an incredible swimming spot….

Next, we headed to Polignano di Mare, to stay in the cute little hotel, Palazzo Maringelli, which was located directly in the old town. We had a sweet little balcony, and it was a perfect location- quiet and comfy, and on the cutest street. We mostly walked around the old town and a bit outside the old town walls as well, eating as much homemade pizza and pasta as we could manage. Our favorite spot was Pizzeria Osteria Bella ‘Mbriana, on the corner of the small main square in the center of the Old Town. There are also lots of cute little shops worth checking out.

You don’t need many days in Polignano di Mare, as it is a very small town, but it is beautiful nonetheless, and if you don’t mind mind-day crowds, it has a gorgeous cove for swimming. You can also do a half day boat ride, along the coast, to see the gorgous little cliffside town from the sea, along with many grottos and sea caves that dot the coastlline under the cliffs. We had a private boat tour booked for two hours, but sadly ended up having to cancel because I still wasn’t feeling my best yet. But it’s something that I want to go back and do one day!

This was our last stop in Puglia, and after Polignano di Mare, we drove all the way to Rome, to spend three awesome days before driving home. But that is another post for another day!

Aloha, Puglia! Until next time….

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