Whitewashed towns, century-old olive groves and a coastline of sea caves. The heel of Italy, read by someone who knows it.
April 2026 · 1 min read
Puglia is the long, sun-bleached heel of Italy, where the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet and the landscape is stitched together by dry-stone walls and silver olive groves. It is flatter, hotter and more elemental than the north, and it keeps its own pace.
The Valle d'Itria
The conical trulli of Alberobello draw the cameras, but the quieter pleasure is the surrounding Valle d'Itria: Locorotondo and Cisternino on their low hills, masserie hidden behind cypress, and long lunches that drift into the afternoon.
In Puglia you do not chase sights. You find a town, a table, and the day takes care of itself.
Down to the coast
Polignano a Mare sits on cliffs above the water, and the baroque honey-stone of Lecce earns its nickname, the Florence of the South. Between them lie beaches reached by dirt track and fish restaurants with no menu, only what came in that morning.
More from this region: Discover Puglia
