Capital: Matera
Major airports: Bari (BRI) and Brindisi (BDS)
The heel of Italy is only about 30 kilometres wide
for most of its length, a mere sliver of land in
Continental terms but one that is crammed with an
extraordinary array of architectural legacies, relics
of the many civilizations that sought to possess it
over the past 3000 years. The sea is never far
here, bordered by white sand beaches, rocky
grottoes and hillsides smothered in vines or wild
sage and rosemary.
Puglia’s most famous feature is also its greatest
mystery: no-one quite knows who built the odd
little beehive shaped houses near Alberobello ,
called trulli. Equally enigmatic is the 13th century
Castel del Monte, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederic
II’s vast, unfortified octagonal castle with its eight
octagonal towers and eight octagonal rooms on
each floor.
The capital and largest city of Puglia is Matera,
which is believed to have been settled 7,000 years
ago. The lower, Sassi district contains a network of
caves which apparently housed the early arrivals,
but more evident is the legacy of subsequent
dwellers who erected buildings - convents and
mansions - fronting their entrances and a warren of
narrow streets to connect them. About 120 chiese
rupestri (rock-hewn churches) are scattered
throughout the district. The 1950s were a sad era
for the Sassi when the area became a diseaseinfested
slum, compared by author Carlo Levi
(Christ Stopped at Eboli) with Dante’s Inferno. The
residents were eventually forcibly relocated and
nowadays the Sassi lies largely empty.
At the very southern extreme of Puglia is the
Salento or Salentino, an area that combines some
of the finest beaches of the Mediterranean with
towns and villages that speak of a history spanning
three millennia and a dozen or so civilizations. Add
a handful of surprisingly good wines to the blend, a
city that easily merits its reputation as ‘the Florence
of the South’ (Lecce), excellent connections by air
and – oh yes - a climate to light a spark in any
winter-bound northerner’s bosom.
Recently Puglia has earned kudos for its wines,
notably the Primitivos from the Salento, but it
deserves equal praise for its cuisine that makes full
use of an abundant, year-round supply of seafood
and fresh vegetables.
