Travel to puglia

Travel to PUGLIA

By KAKHOROVA GUZAL

General information

Puglia, the heel of Italy’s stylish boot, has a wonderfully distinct allure stemming from its rural landscape and patchwork past of Norman, Spanish, Greek, and Byzantine influences. The region is quickly rivaling Tuscany’s gourmet title, offering a glimpse into true Italian traditions and values.

Puglia is situated in Italy

The beautiful white cities

 Like many southern Mediterranean destinations, many of the cities in Puglia are gorgeous white old towns. This keeps the heat off the buildings, but also creates a glorious landscape underneath a bright blue sky. Pictured above is Alberobello.

The cuisine

The cuisine. Puglia is home to some of the most wonderful Italian specialties — orechiette pasta, shaped like little ears, handmade by nonnas on the street. Burrata cheese, oozing into a glorious puddle. And the most addicting street food, the panzerotto, which you can see more about below. Puglia is home to wonderful fruits and vegetables and it’s also an excellent region for vegetarians

The natural beauty

Puglia may not have a signature look like Tuscany’s rolling hills or Lombardia’s mountain-surrounded lakes, but it’s full of so much natural beauty. The sunsets here are unreal, and the olive groves make magical backdrops. The beaches are fantastic, too

The traditions

A lot of young people leave Puglia to follow economic opportunity in the big cities up north, but coming home is a very big deal. (I expressed surprise that there was a Frecciarossa train running from Torino in Piemonte to Lecce in Puglia, and a local friend told me obviously, because so many Pugliese come to Milan to work!) I loved getting to enjoy the local music and singing in Carpino, a small city in the Gargano region of Puglia.

Value for money

Generally speaking, southern Italy is often much cheaper than the north (excluding very touristy areas like the Amalfi Coast), and your money will go much further in Puglia than most regions in the north. All the more savings to put toward delicious food and wine!

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