In late June, Ed and I spent a delicious week in Puglia – the “heel” of Italy’s “boot”. We rented a car to meander around ancient olive groves and marvel and unobstructed ocean vistas.  And, Puglia delighted us with colorful orecchiette pasta, fresh seafood, abundant olive oil, and spectacular gelati.

Gourmet Delights

Orecchiette – literally “small ears” – is a shape of Puglian pasta dating to around 1500. Our orchiette came with a variety of sauces, including a Puglian specialty – Orecchiette con le cime di rapa – handmade orecchiette with turnip tops

Even the most lowly hole-in-the-wall cafe offered the freshest cuisine and homemade flair.  We especially enjoyed the mussels and clam linguine in a plaza in Gallipoli.

And an 8-course farm-to-table at Masseria Il Frantoio in Ostuni under twinkling lights was divine.  An  English-speaking sommelier guided us through the delicious wine pairings.

Not to be outdone, the pasta and calamari at a seaside restaurant in Castrignano del Capo was terrific.

And, the tiramisu topped it all off on many occasions!

Oceans Beckon 

Less touristy than its northern neighbors, Puglia is nestled between the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic sea.  We were able to swim in both bodies of water on back to back days.  The water was warm and the waves were undulating and mild. Nice! 

The drive along the Salento peninsula was breathtaking. We drove from Otranto to the most southern tip of Italy – Santa Maria de Leuca. This scenic winding road flirts with the edge of tall limestone cliffs, dropping off into the frothing Adriatic sea and offering some of amazing views.  In June, we were early for the throngs of tourists, so traffic was light.

Home of the Trulli

Alberobello, a highly-visited town in Puglia, hosts over 1500 conical structures, known as trulli.  Dating from as early as the mid-14th century, they feature conical roofs built over whitewashed mortarless buildings. 

The trulli were designed without mortar because they were supposed to be temporary farm shelters.  According to experts, “These iconic rural dwellings began appearing as early as the 14th century, and their popularity originated because of a 15th century decree that made urban settlers pay taxes to the crown under feudal rule. If the king’s inspectors came collecting, the villagers could easily demolish these inexpensive buildings into a pile of stones and hide in the forest, and then rebuild them once they’d gone.” We enjoyed walking around the current trulli, and witnessed a local wedding at the only trulli church in the world.

Gourmet Farm Says

Puglia is dotted with masserias — rural farms converted to boutique bed and breakfasts.  The masserias are located outside of villages throughout the region. We stayed in two of these – in Ostuni and Otranto, and both were delightful.  In Ostuni, we marveled at the orchard with thousand year old olive trees.   We learned that Puglia produces 40 percent of Italy’s olive oil.

Charming Villages

Puglia has many small towns nestled among the olive groves. One of our favorites was the hilltop town of Ostuni, known as the “White City”. The whitewashed city beckons visitors from afar.

And the ubiquitous Aperol Spritz is very popular!

Visiting the Cave Dwellings

We spent a magical day and night in Matera – one of the oldest continually occupied settlements in Europe. 

Cave dwellers settled here in the Paleolithic Age and residents lived in these caves (in cohabitation with their pigs and goats) up until the late 1950’s.  They built an amazingly complex labyrinth of caves on top of each other, nestled along the cliffs.

We visited this cave that had been transformed into a shop.

It was definitely more hospitable than this cave in the early 1900’s, when residents lived in the same cave as their animals.

Today, the caves have morphed into boutique hotels, shops and residences.  The town gained popularity when Mel Gibson filmed The Passion of The Christ in 2004, since the ambiance resembles ancient Jerusalem. And, popularity increased when James Bond performed automotive theatrics in Matera’s main plaza in No Time To Die in 2021.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Matera and appreciated the guided tour provided by a local resident.  (Matera is technically not in Puglia, but it is in a neighboring state, Basilicata.)

One Minor Wrinkle

During our journey, we had a flat tire in Otranto.  Luckily we were near the curb and were able to drive the car to safety.  We had noticed a female traffic officer nearby and we showed her google translate’s version of “flat tire” in Italian.  She knew just what to do.  She called “Bilo” and later told us (in Italian) that he would arrive in treinta minuti (30 min).  So, we chilled near the car, and Bilo arrived shortly thereafter. 

He put on a spare and we followed him to his shop.  The correct tire was not in stock, but we gave him a deposit for a new one and returned the next day, where he put on the tire.  The rental company never knew anything about this.  And, luckily we were able to tour the countryside using the spare, so our itinerary was not compromised. And, since none of the parties were bilingual (including us), google translate came to the rescue!

Arrivederci Puglia! 

Our week in Puglia was relaxing and lovely. We were sorry to leave and hope to return soon to sample even more gourmet delicacies and visit more charming villages. Next time – without a flat tire!