Puglia

In Puglia you’ll enjoy the warm and dry climate you expect from a Mediterranean region. The rocky coast enchants you with its marvelling beauty and its many secrets. There’s no other place in Italy like Gallipoli, where the seawater is so clear and bright blue. When you follow the coast, you’ll see gigantic rocky outcrops and rising cities with the lovely Italian white houses you know and love. The inlands vary in landscape from flat to hilly. Also unique in the area: the world-famous trulli you’ll find nowhere else in Europe.

The most special places

Trulli are old houses with a singular architecture consisting of conical roofs. You can spot them anywhere in the region, but the most beautiful Trulli are located in Alberobello, Massaia, Ostuni, Cisternino and Ceglie Messapica.Thanks to the unique landscape, the mild winters and warm summers, Puglia is the number one producer of olives in Italy. More to the south, in the region of Salento, several kinds of grapes are grown, like the Negroamaro and the Primitivo. You can visualise the lovely picture with the vineyards, olive groves, and unspoiled hills. Sun, sea, beaches and beautiful inlands, Puglia offers you everything. In short, a region with a dreamlike quality.

Short history of Puglia

Puglia has been popular for settlers for thousands of years, as is shown by the presence of prehistoric menhirs and dolmens. After the Illyrians, the area was populated by the ancient Greeks in the Hellenistic era. The city of Taranto is an old Spartan colony. Here you can still see the ruins of an old Poseidon temple. The landscape is easily accessible with the mainly flat and slightly sloping hills, which made it a convenient target for invasions.

When the Romans settled in Puglia, the area was booming. The Via Appia was constructed, a road that leads all the way to Rome. The Byzantines later took over the location. The many ancient Roman churches attest to rich church history. In the 17th century, cities like Lecce were transformed by the baroque style.

Highlights of Puglia and its surroundings!

Puglia is a diverse region with plenty to experience and explore. A beautiful way to enjoy the mesmerising landscape is by making a trip. Tip: choose a theme for your day trip and find a route that suits it.

Tourist attractions

Puglia is brimming with lovely old towns and beautiful tourist destinations. We don’t envy you having to choose between them.

Events

As you know, Puglia enjoys a pleasant climate so that most festivals can be held outside. One of the first events of the year is Carnevale di Putignano, a carnival that is held close to Easter. The residents of Putignano are sure: their carnival is the oldest in the world. In the whole town - and really - the entire region of Puglia, people dress up, and there are beautiful floats in the streets. The food also takes an important place in Puglian culture. There are several food festivals in summer, known as ‘sagre’. Every sagra is centred around a certain regional speciality. There are so many; it would be too much to name them all. These are some of the best-known festivals:

Festival della Valle d’Itria

Festival della Valle d’Itria is a music festival, coming back every year in the last two weeks of July. The festival consists of several operas. Every year the organisers (also) try to arrange less performed pieces by less-known composers.

Te la Uliata Festival

The black olive bread of Lecce gives its name to this festival, which is held every year in July. This is a feast for people who love good food. Several specialities are served.

Notte della Taranta, the night of Taranta

This music festival is held every August. It is entirely devoted to Italian folk music and traditional folk dances such as the pizzica and tarantella. The travelling bands visit different places. The festival ends with a big evening concert in Melpignano.

Bari International Film Festival

This is held every year at the end of August in an exceptional setting. The performances take place in the most beautiful theatres of the city such as the Teatro Petruzzelli, the Teatro Margherita and the seven theatres of the Multicinema Galleria.

Food and drink

In Puglia people live off the seasons and what the land and the nearby sea have to offer. The ingredients usually come from all over the region, where grains, grapes, olives and seafood are abundant. Typical vegetables are fennel, eggplant, artichokes, broad beans and Cima di Rapa. In Puglia, you will also find local meat specialities, but the central part consists of fish, mussels and other seafood. That is not surprising, because Puglia is located by the sea. The advantage is that everything comes fresh from the sea so that the taste is excellent and the quality is high.

Top 5 of regional specialities:

Puglia is the region of the orecchiette pasta shells, the shape of which is reminiscent of an auricle. It is local custom for the ears to be folded by hand by an Italian mamma or nonna. This is a time-consuming job, but the results are impressive!
Burrata: This is actually a type of mozzarella, but in Puglia, a craft is made of the production. A Burrata is an artfully made business that consists of mozzarella and is folded shut. The inside is again, a combination of mozzarella and cream. This remarkable invention originated in the village of Murgia.
Caciocavallo Silano: another unique cheese, made from cow's milk and ripened on a rope. The light yellow colour is striking, more golden than cheddar and famous Dutch cheeses. The longer the ripening process, the spicier the cheese.
Pane di Altamura: a delicious bread-based on flour, water, yeast, salt and a secret seasoning: fine semolina. In the past, this bread was often taken by shepherds and had to be well preserved. It, therefore, retains its good taste for a long time.
Petiole: These are round pasta balls that are fried in boiling oil. They are said to have been invented in Taranto. They are traditionally eaten there on Santa Cecilia's birthday; an opportunity that you will not want to miss if you happen to be in the area.

Wines

Most and the best of Puglia wines come from the region around Salento, in the southern part that starts just about at the height of Brindisi. The Amastuola is a well-known white grape variety. To keep the pigeons fresh, they are harvested at night and processed immediately. Puglia is also the region where the Primitivo is grown, the oldest known grape, from which the Greeks and Romans already made red wine. The Negroamaro is also typical of the region. Do not miss the opportunity to taste the delicious wines at the aforementioned Alberobello.

Weather in Puglia

Most regions in the centre of Italy have a wonderful Mediterranean climate with warm summers and mild winters, but Puglia has a little extra to offer. For example, in March you can already enjoy temperatures of around 15 degrees Celsius or even higher! Autumn is also a wonderful time to stay here, and even October is pleasant with a temperature of about 20°C. Also, the temperature of the water rarely drops below 14 degrees Even in the cold months of November, December, and January, the temperature during the day still rise above 10 degrees.So Puglia is a great place to stay all year round!

The best time for a sunny holiday in Puglia is from May till September. During this time, you can enjoy pleasant warm temperatures with barely any rainfall. In the summer, the average temperature is around 30°C and peaks at around 40°C. July and August are traditionally the most warm months in Puglia. The sea temperature this time of year is also around a comfortablu 25 degrees Celcius.

Holiday rentals in Puglia

In a region as dazzlingly beautiful as Puglia, it is almost a shame not to enjoy every moment to the fullest. That is precisely the intention of our holiday rentals in Puglia. For all our luxury villas and country houses, we have only selected the locations with the best location and the most beautiful view. You always have a spacious enclosed terrace and a swimming pool for your daily cooling. For each accommodation, we have chosen a completely individual style that matches the environment. We have made extensive use of locally manufactured design furniture and accessories in the interior.

A selection of our offers:

Flying to Puglia

Puglia's two main airports are Bari and Brindisi, which are accessible from various airports from Great Britain and the European mainland. There are also different domestic flights in Italy. Pescara also has a small airport where several planes land in one day.

Would you like to know more about our holiday rentals, our properties, or our services in Puglia, Italy? Check out our Facebook page for more information, view our available accommodations on our website, or feel free to contact us! We are more than happy to help you.

Special Puglia

The most special places

Short history of Puglia

Highlights of Puglia and its surroundings!

Take a beach trip

Take a wine tasting tour

Le Murge

Tourist attractions

Ostuni

Vieste

Gallipoli

Cisternino

Valle d’Itria

Castel del Monte

Lecce

Brindisi

Events

Food and drink

Wines

Weather in Puglia

Holiday rentals in Puglia

Loreluce

Ostuni, Puglia

Altomuro

Villa Seta

Puglia, Carovigno

Casa Specchia

Puglia, Valle d'Itria

Flying to Puglia

What our clients say:

Asa G.

Iceland, June 2022

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