Apulia: The new Tuscany

Fasten your seatbelt and stay safe, because now we will take you into a cultural journey full of tradition, gastronomic bounties and amazing natural beauties: we are talking about region Apulia, the heel of the Italian boot, bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Otranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Apulia is famous all over the world for its Trulli, Pasta, wine, olive oil, natural parks, beaches and history. The demand for the so-called “New Tuscany” is growing day by day, a sign that this still unexplored region by the touristic crowds has real travelling experiences to offer. The key to this touristic increasing are the beautiful, long sandy coasts and cliffs, the archaeological funds, the “Cucina Pugliese” and the business travel . Compared to other regions of Italy, Apulia is mainly flat, but rich in different kind of natural contests: from the grottos of Castellana, onto the area of Gargano, strong of its new travel market due to beautiful seascapes, small fisher villages and astonishing islands as Tremiti. From large towns as Bari and Taranto, onto smaller and charming cities as Lecce, Ostuni, Martina Franca and so on; all these cities offer a wide range of cultural, historic and architectonic attractions, as the whole region Apulia was dominated and therefore influenced by several cultures as Greeks, Romans, Goths, Lombards and Byzantines. Staying for example in the famous house stones called “Trulli” you will certainly plunge into this cultural reality, profoundly tasting the essence of this ancient land. These white stone house were built by local farmers many centuries ago, with massive stone blocks, usually white with gray and characteristic roofs and a pine apple on the top of it. Inside of these Trulli the charm and the warmness will suddenly strike you, feeling to have entered a time machine and to live in a total different contest. Most of these restored Trulli are now equipped with lots of modern features and gadgets, in order to make the guest feel warmly enwrapped, giving a unique travelling sensation, which only this Region and its Trulli can offer. Starting from these kind of accommodation you can discover landscapes full of olive groves, almond and fico trees. The “Cucina Pugliese” is one of the most interesting cuisines of Italy, as they commonly prepare “poor” dishes, using only first choice materials, presenting during the summer usually fresh vegetables and fish, during the winter mainly pasta with “sugo” and meat, commonly called “Maccheroni” or “Orecchiette”. The immense lands with olive groves provide the farmers with a great selection of olives, in order to produce few of the most important olive oil arts in Italy. Apulia is rich in olive oil cellars, where you can taste and buy the olive oil which more suites you. Many people are wrongly convinced that the best olive oil is coming from Tuscany. But let us tell you, that the olive oil you can get in these private cellars, forgotten from travel guides and main stream opinions, can hold the highest quality level of the whole country. Apulia is also one of the most important wine producers and exporters of Italy, bringing on your table wines as Negramaro, Primitivo di Manduria, Salice Salentino and so on, most of them branded with D. O. C. denomination. We invite you to visit the smaller cellars, the traditional ones, being striked firstly by the hospitality and warm welcome of the owners, leading you into a special gastronomic tasting, with several local specialties. Last but not least, Apulia offers during the whole year folklore festivals and events, where one can listen to smooth, traditional music or admire people dancing the ancient Pizzica and Taranta dance, these ones coming up from a strong local cultural background, accompained by singers, tambours and other instruments.