Puglia (Apulia) — Italy's heel — is the country's best-kept secret finally emerging into the spotlight. This sun-drenched southern region offers whitewashed towns, the fairy-tale trulli houses of Alberobello, Baroque masterpiece Lecce, ancient olive groves, and an Adriatic coastline of sea caves and turquoise water. Puglia is Italy at its most authentic, affordable, and delicious.
Getting to Puglia
By air: Bari (BRI) and Brindisi (BDS) airports serve the region. By train: Bari is connected by high-speed rail to Rome (4 hours), Naples (3.5 hours), and Milan (6.5 hours). From Bari, local trains reach most towns.
Alberobello — The Trulli Town
The trulli of Alberobello are among Italy's most extraordinary sights — over 1,500 whitewashed stone houses with conical grey roofs, clustered together like a fairy-tale village from another dimension. Built without mortar (so they could be quickly dismantled to avoid tax!), these UNESCO World Heritage structures create a labyrinth of narrow lanes and impossibly photogenic corners.
Lecce — The Florence of the South
If Florence is the queen of Renaissance architecture, Lecce is the queen of Baroque. The local golden limestone (pietra leccese) was carved into the most ornate facades, columns, and cherubs imaginable — the Basilica di Santa Croce is a masterpiece of stone lace. The Roman amphitheatre in the main square, the craft workshops, and the lively nightlife make Lecce one of southern Italy's most exciting cities.
Polignano a Mare — The Cliff-Top Marvel
Polignano a Mare is the town of a thousand Instagram posts — whitewashed houses perched on limestone cliffs 20 metres above turquoise Adriatic water, with the famous Lama Monachile beach wedged between the rocks. It hosts the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series and claims to be the birthplace of Domenico Modugno (who sang "Volare").
Practical Tips
- Ostuni — the "White City" on a hilltop, visible from 20 km away, a dazzling maze of whitewashed streets
- Matera — technically in Basilicata but just across the border — the famous Sassi cave dwellings, a UNESCO site and European Capital of Culture
- Food: Orecchiette con cime di rapa (ear-shaped pasta with turnip tops), burrata cheese (invented here!), taralli (savoury biscuits), fresh seafood
- Olive oil: Puglia produces 40% of Italy's olive oil — the ancient groves with 1,000-year-old trees are UNESCO-worthy
- Masserie: Stay in a converted farmhouse (masseria) for the authentic Puglia experience
Bring Puglia Home
The trulli of Alberobello, the cliffs of Polignano, the Baroque splendour of Lecce — Puglia is Italy's beautiful secret. Our MemBoards souvenir cutting boards capture the sun-drenched magic of Italy's heel.