imprimis travel design: luglio 2011

Let’s talk now about another hidden pearl described in our website…: Apulia.

This is another region dear to me as I have been coming here for years and I know it very well. Puglia, the Italian name, or Apulia, the Roman name and how it is known in English, is the most eastern point of Italy, the so called “heel” of the boot.. We drove from Milan, about 950 kilometers door to door: taking it easy, stopping for lunch in a “Autogrill”, in Romagna, eating delicious Lasagne (they come from here..) is a 10 hours drive..Not a quick trip indeed, it takes a day.

A curiosity: “Autogrill” is a very Italian thing: it’s a chain of half restaurant-half bar which has in some cases a full equipped supermarket filled with local (and not) specialties..They are on the national highways connected to the fuel stations. These “service stations” are inside our culture, since we are little we stop here when traveling and actually look forward to do so because the food is great! The sandwiches are yummy and when you find the “Ciao” restaurant attached the food is very good too (for something you find on the highway next to a fuel station..).

Once in Apulia, we stayed in the area called “Valle d’Itria”, a lovely valley where you find the highest concentration of the characteristic “Trulli’, the iconic, conic… buildings found ONLY in this area. Ostuni, the biggest nearby town, is also known as the “White City”, as it has houses and buildings almost entirely of this color. In this valley we also visited “Alberobello” a small town made entirely by “Trulli”, so unique it was declared UNESCO human heritage. Often, we went to “Cisternino”, another pretty hilltop town, famous for its restaurants: here we could eat the famous “Orecchiette alle cime di rape” and the “Pure’ di fave” (mashed fava beans) two very typical dishes of this area; and grilled meats of any kind, other special skill here.

In this area we could also visit the famous “Grotte di Castellana” (Castellana Grotto), a miracle of underground lights and colors, and pushing our way to the sea, the ruins of the Roman city of Egnazia, maintained pretty well with a street passing through almost as it was 2000 years ago.

Then some beach time finally! The sea touching this side of the region is the “Adriatic”, which can give some surprising colors, and with most of beaches having a nice “backbone” of sand dunes, making it look wild and untouched. Here, we went to a series of the so called “Bagni”, structures offering parking, services such as beach umbrellas and chairs, and mostly, food.. We got attached mostly to two, in one you see the owner of the place coming mid-morning with octopuses which have just been fished, that you will find in your plate roasted, with potatoes and rosemary a couple of hours later! In the other you can relax on a hammock, sipping a cocktail or enjoying a fresh caprese salad (salad with super fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, dressed with oil black pepper and basil), some crunchy bruschettas (roasted bread with fresh tomatoes cut to cubes, mixed with garlic and basil) and other Italian specialties.

Then we decide to explore the area called “Salento”, the hidden pearl described in our website.. What a region! “Lecce” is simply outstanding. Capital of the Italian “Baroque”, a unique architecture made of warm colors and wonderful details, this town has it all. Right in the middle of town lies an incredibly maintained Roman amphitheater, all around small family ran restaurants gives you the small town feelings, although Lecce is not that tiny. We then move to the seaside, which on this side (the southern coast) is called “Ionian”, a Greek origin for a Greek looking sea! Here the waters can battle with those of Sardinia, considered the Caribbean of the Mediterranean: calm and transparent. We head to S.Maria di Leuca, the most Eastern point of the Italian peninsula, lovely holiday destination, with crystal clear waters and nice historical buildings.. It was here, in a seafront restaurant looking over the calm waters and lights of the far away fishermen boats in the night, eating a spectacular “fritto misto” (pan fried seafood and fish) and sipping a local “Bianco of Locorotondo”, a dry, fruity white wine, that I have realized the majesty of my country’s beauties.

The Trulli in a Itria's Valley's Sunset