Beautiful Drives – Santa Maria di Leuca to Otranto

The drive from Santa Maria di Leuca to Otranto is considered one of the most beautiful drives in all of Italy. Some call it the Amalfi Coast of Puglia. It is an easy drive and offers breath taking views of the Adriatic around every corner. There are antique towers, a natural swimming pool, fabulous seafood restaurants and, in the spring, amazing wildflowers. Best of all, unlike the Amalfi Coast, it remains relatively undiscovered!

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Incredible Landscapes

Drive 10 minutes in any given direction in Puglia and you will see a different landscape. From beautiful pastoral fields full of wildflowers, to rugged coastline with crashing waves, from towns with narrow cobblestone streets to stunning hilltop towns perched on the edge of a cliff. While it is always good to have a daily destination, give yourself time to explore aimlessly, even to get lost. In Puglia, it really is the journey that counts!

Architecture

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There is no one architectural style that defines Puglia but what it does offer is an array of examples of architecture through the ages and a few things that are unique to the region. From the renaissance architecture to be found in Lecce (the Florence of the South), to the Gothic architecture in beautiful Locortondo, one of Italy’s most beautiful towns, Puglia is a lesson in architecture through the ages. Where else can you see white washed hobbit houses, like the Trulli in Alberobello, Greek ruins, stunning old villas, abandoned, crumbling watch towers surrounded by fields of flowers, and amazing churches from all era’s.

Food

Food in Puglia, particularly in Salento, is, for the most part, fresh, simple and local. Meals are seasonal and rely on simple local ingredients. Based on fresh produce, olive oil and seafood, the best of Salento can be found in the small local restaurants and in the many agriturism farms that offer meals. Produce is fresh, pasta is always homemade and seafood was probably swimming around that morning. Look for a place packed by locals and you can be certain you will find a good meal. Must try’s include the local pasta, orcchiette or little ears, and pasticciotto ( a simple pastry filled with cream). I still dream about the beautiful, creamy burrata we bought at a local cheese shop.

Wine

The three most important grapes of Salento are Negroamaro, Malvasia Nera and Primitivo. For the most part, the wines are made to drink with food although this is changing as some top names in Italian wine are opening wineries in Salento and the younger generation are banding together to share resources and develop more complex wines. It is not yet well geared to wine tourism for solo travelers or individual groups. Most wineries work with wine tour companies. However, often if you call to see if you can visit, you will be welcomed warmly.

Markets

Go to a market!  Yes, that’s it, just go to a market!  Go out of your way to go to a market – it will be worth it.  Every day in Salento there is a market somewhere.  If you are like me, you will plan your town visit around market day in any given town.  The choice of food at the markets is overwhelming.  Cheeses, salami’s, smoked hams, fresh fish and shell fish, fresh produce, freshly baked bread and pastries, dips, olives, olive oil – are you hungry yet?   We visited a stationary market in Lecce in an old building.  Obviously a place for locals, they seemed quite surprised to seem six Canadian tourists.  At every single place we made a purchase, the salesperson threw extra into the bag – tomatoes, a roll of cheese, some herbs!  The best food market we visited was likely the one in Alberobello – again, nowhere near the tourist part of the city, but a highlight of our trip.   If you like food (and who doesn’t) you will love the markets of Puglia.

The people!

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Warm, generous, friendly, funny – people in Puglia were unfailingly generous and warm. Everywhere we went, people went out of their way to be kind. From the free drinks after the bill was paid at restaurants, to the people at the markets who always added a little extra to our purchase, to the gentleman that invited us into his cooking school, showed us around and plied us with free wine (check out the Puglia Wine School in Squinzano) and the old-fashioned bookbinder who gave us each a notebook as a memento of our stay, we were made to feel welcome everywhere we went.

Festivals

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It seems like it doesn’t matter when you go because no matter what time of year, there will be a festival in Puglia somewhere. I often plan my travel around festivals. On this occasion, the decision to travel to Puglia came first and the hunt for a festival came second. We wound up attending La Festa di San Catalodo in Taranta – several days of celebration in honour of the patron saint of Taranta beginning with the Palio – a rowing competition around the island that is the centre of the city. Following the palio, the silver statue of the patron saint is taken from his chapel and paraded around the city on a boat. There are many larger festivals around the province and it is worth exploring what’s on offer when determining dates.

Affordability

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While you’re going to pay tourist prices similar to those in other parts of Italy in the more well-known tourist towns (Polignano a Mare, Alberobello, Lecce, Bari), Puglia is dotted with small, beautiful lesser known towns with beautiful historic centres where your dollar will stretch much further. We stayed in the historic center of Galatina and I fell in love with the place. It had an abundance of great restaurants, bars and coffee shops. An interesting history (the spider bite that spawned the tarantello dance apparently happened in Gallipoli) and friendly local residents. The Airbnb we rented was a converted old nunnery, transformed into several apartments, in a very small square. We became friendly with our neighbours and we could walk anywhere in town. Honestly, staying there was likely my favorite part of Puglia.

Hidden gems and not-so-hidden gems

It seems the two most touristy towns we visited were Alberobello and Polignano a Mare. In Alberbello we stopped at their local market (went on for blocks and it was amazing) and then went to visit the Trulli houses. The Trulli houses were cool to look at but it was very crowded with tourists and we left after taking a few photos. Polignano a Mare was equally touristy but so stunning we spent an afternoon there. Tip: don’t drive into the historic center as we did – find a parking lot on the outskirts of the old town and walk in. Only locals can park in the old town and driving there is difficult, to say the least. Do visit both, they are worth it and plan to spend some time exploring Polignano a Mare which is stunning.

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However, do take time to visit some of the lesser known towns. Locorotondo was an absolute favorite. Galipoli is a beautiful beach town. Galatina, where we stayed, was lovely and had some very unique shopping. A favorite was a couple who made jewelry from the bits that fall off the old buildings as they are being restored, a woman who sold nothing but buttons in a room that could have been a chapel (I think it once was) and a man who made books the old -fashioned way by binding the himself. Ask around, go exploring, eat where the locals eat, eat at a local farm, seek the unique! Go exploring. Puglia is like stepping back into a simpler time, particularly if you leave the traditional tourist track. Note: you absolutely need a car in Puglia.