-Puglia

Eat / Play / Shop

HOTELS

Alberobello: Trulli Colarossa (old Trulli homes converted to a B&B – fantastic)

Matera: La Dimora di Metello (cave boutique hotel – amazing)

Ostuni: Masseria Salinola (16th century salt warehouse transformed to boutique hotel – incredible)

Lecce: Mantatelure (boutique hotel in quiet part of town; gorgeous)

Rome: Appartamento Benincampi- Navona in Fiore (apartment overlookingPiazza Navona; perfection; we booked with Booking.com)

 

EATING

Alberbello:

Gli Ulivi (best meal we had in Italy; get the antipasti – don’t order anything else – too filling; not touristy; great staff; good price)

Other restaurants that were recommended: Trullo Doro, La Cantina, Terra Madre, Evo

 

Polignano e Mare:

Octeria dei Mulini (Orecchiette di grano arso)

Grotta Palazzese (we couldn’t get a reservation so I highly recommend booking well in advance)

Other restaurants that were recommended: Mint Cucina Fresca (healthy; organic; seasonal); Tuccino and Antiche Mure

 

Matera:

Il Terrazzino (table by terrace wall)

Trattoria del Caveoso (simple; inexpensive; great antipasti)

Other restaurants that were recommended: Soul Kitchen, Ristorante Francesca

 

Locorotondo:

Taverna del Duca

Trattoria Centro Storico (great for lunch)

Quanto Basta (in old town)

 

Ostuni

Osteria del Tempo Perso

Other restaurants recommended: Osteria Piazetta Cattedrale; Porta Nova

 

Martina Franca:

La Piazzetta Garibaldi

 

Lecce:

Tratorria de Nonna Tetti (LOVED this place; special of day was terrific)

Trattoria Le Zie

Other restaurants that were recommended: Osteria Da Anguilino; Trattoria Il Rifugio dela Buona Stella; La Torre di Merlino (supposedly best pizza in Lecce)

 

Otranto:

Laltro Baffo

Also recommended: La Pignata

 

Rome:

Sbanco (pizza with ice)

Il Convivio Troiani

Canova Tadolini (cool resto with statues everywhere)

Antico Caffe Greco (amazing place for coffee or tea right by Spanish Steps on Via Condotti; classic interior)

 

SHOPPING

I just did a bit of shopping in Rome. Some stores I came across that I really liked:

-M’appazza

-Luna & L’Altra

-Alternatives Gallery (incredible contemporary jewelry – like art)

 

Itinerary

THINGS TO DO:

A great website for explanations on some quaint Puglia towns

 

Alberobello:

-north side less touristy

-Aia Piccola (residential; quiet lanes, trulli; eastern side of Via Indipidenza)

-Main square: Piazza del Popolo (Belvedere Trulli lookout offers views)

-Museo dell’Olio

 

Grotte di Castellana:

-unbelievable case system – one of the best we have ever seen

-there is the “short” walk that is 50 minutes or the “long” once that’s 2 hours; we did the long one since we love caves and were able to get to Grotta Bianca which was incredible

 

Martina Franca: 

-old quarter is nice although we weren’t blown away by the town

-pass under Arco di Sant’Antonio

-frescoes in the Palazzo Ducale and the baroque Chiesa di San Martino

-from Piazza Roma, follow Corso Vittorio Emanuelle  to P. Plebiscito

 

Locorotondo 

-Santa Maria della Graeccia

-Villa Communale (public garden w/ panoramic views)

 

Polignano e Mare

-great seaside village (it felt like Greece)

-nice to have lunch overlooking the sea

 

Ostuni:

-nice Cathedral

-there is the Museo di civiltà preclassiche della Murgia Meridionale that we didn’t visit but there is “Delia”, a 25,000 year old skeleton

 

Matera:

-you MUST take part in the “Passegiata” which is when people stroll the streets after dinner (usually from :7:00 -8:00 pm) on Piazza Sedile and Piazza Veneto (great people watching)

-walk around Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso (wander through uninhabited caves; entrance off Piazza Vittorio Veneto or take Via delle Beccherie to Piazza del Duono and follow the tourist itinerary signs to enter either Barisano or Caveoso))

-Santa Lucia alle Malve, one of 155 rupestrian (rock) churches in and around Matera

-in Sassi Barisono: visit Chiesa Madonna delle Virtu and Chiesa di San Nicola del Grecci; also Chiesa San Pedro Barisono

–www.aptbasilicata.it

-Cripta del Peccato Originate

-MUSMA (contemporary sculpture; we loved it)

-Casa Noha

-Cave church Madonna de idris

-Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario (touristy but see how people lived)

 

Otranto:

-cliffs

-Norman Cathedral: 800 year old Tree of Life mosaic floor; 813 martyr bones (FANTASTIC site)

 

Lecce:

-Museo Archeologico Faggiano (a pipe burst so a renovation was done and they discovered old relics; terrific to see)

-Bascillica Santa Croce

-Piazza del Duomo

-central square: Piazza Sant’Oronzo

-Roman ampitheatre

-stroll down Via Palmieri, stopping to watch artisans working on paper mache or on the local sandstone in their shops

 

ROME:

-Vatican; Sistine Chapel

-St. Peter’s Basilica

-Capitoline

-Vila Borghese (HIGHLY recommend; get tickets in advance)

-Piazza di Spagna

-Spanish steps

-Trevi fountain