A narrow laneway through the Trulli (limestone dwellings) of Alberobello.

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Puglia, Basilicata & Calabria

The Italian boot’s heel (Puglia), instep (Basilicata) and toe (Calabria) are where the 'Mezzogiorno' (southern Italy) shows all its throbbing intensity. Long stereotyped as the poorer, more passionate cousins of Italy's sophisticated northerners, these regions are finally being appreciated for their true richness. You will see washing on weather-worn balconies, scooters speeding down medieval alleys and ancient towns crumbling under Mediterranean suns. But look past the pasta-advert stereotypes and you'll find things altogether more complex and wonderful; gritty, unsentimental cities with pedigrees stretching back thousands of years; dramatically broken coastlines that have harboured fisherfolk and pirates for millennia; and above all, proud and generous people, eager to share these delights with you.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Aerial view of the Castel del Monte in Southern Italy - Octogonal shaped castle built by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the 13th century in Apulia; Shutterstock ID 1801891420; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Castel del Monte

    Puglia

    You'll see Castel del Monte, an inhumanly exact geometric shape on a hilltop, from miles away. Mysterious and perfectly octagonal, it's one of southern…

  • Mosaic of Abel and Cain offering presents to God on the floor of the central nave, Otranto duomo (cathedral), Otranto, Lecce, Apulia, Italy, Europe

    Cathedral

    Otranto

    Mosaics, skulls, crypts and biblical-meets-tropical imagery: Otranto's cathedral is like no other in Italy. It was built by the Normans in the 11th…

  • Grotte di Castellana, Puglia, Italy.

    Grotte di Castellana

    Valle d’Itria

    These spectacular limestone caves, 40km southeast of Bari, are Italy's longest natural subterranean network. The interlinked galleries, first discovered…

  • Bari, Italy - 5 May, 2018: Famous Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas Basilica in old part of city Bari, Italy

    Basilica di San Nicola

    Bari

    Bari's signature basilica was one of the first Norman churches to be built in southern Italy, and is a splendid (if square and solid) example of Pugliese…

  • Baroque facade of Basilica di Santa Croce.

    Basilica di Santa Croce

    Lecce

    It seems that hallucinating stonemasons have been at work on the basilica. Sheep, dodos, cherubs and beasties writhe across the facade, a swirling…

  • Exterior of the Chiesa San Pietro Barisano church in Matera, Italy.

    Chiesa San Pietro Barisano

    Matera

    Dating in its earliest parts to the 12th century, St Peter's, the largest of Matera's rupestrian churches, overlays an ancient honeycomb of niches where…

  • Museo Nazionale di Reggio Calabria

    Museo Nazionale di Reggio Calabria

    Reggio Calabria

    Over several floors in Southern Italy's finest museum you'll descend through millennia of local history, from Neolithic and Palaeolithic times through…

  • Museo Faggiano

    Museo Faggiano

    Lecce

    Descend through Lecce's rich historical strata in this fascinating home-turned-museum, where sewerage excavations led to the chance discovery of an…

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A view of the tightly packed buildings of Bari's Old Town, with Basilica di San Nicola on the right and the sea in the distance

Art

Bari reinvented: why you should visit Puglia's underrated port

Mar 18, 2019 • 5 min read

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Puglia, Basilicata & Calabria and beyond

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