Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Sibaritide
Calabria
Founded around 730 BC and destroyed by the Krotons in 510 BC, Sybaris was rebuilt twice: once as Thurii by the Greeks in 444 BC, and again in 194 BC by…
Must-see attractions in Puglia, Basilicata & Calabria
Puglia
Head to San Domino for walks, grottoes and coves. It has a pristine, marvellous coastline and the islands' only sandy beach, Cala delle Arene. Alongside…
Santuario di San Francesco di Paola
Calabria
Watched over by a crumbling castle, the Santuario di San Francesco di Paola is a curious, empty cave with tremendous significance to the devout. The saint…
Basilicata
Not to be confused with the Tavole Palatine, the Parco Archeologico is a larger, if less immediately impressive collection of Metaponto ruins that…
Trani
This synagogue, one of four once established in Trani's ancient Jewish quarter, has been reborn after over 600 years. Persecutions, forced conversions and…
Salento
Primarily the work of the Aragonese who ruled southern Italy in the 16th century, this sturdy redoubt retains elements built by the Angevins in previous…
Otranto
Dubbed L’Approdo (The Landing) and located in Otranto's new port area, this striking installation by the Greek artist Costas Varostos was erected in 2012…
Parco Archeologico di Grumentum
Basilicata
The Parco Archeologico di Grumentum – sometimes known as Basilicata's 'Little Pompeii' – contains remains of a theatre, an amphitheatre, Roman baths, a…
Abbazia della Santissima Trinità
Basilicata
At the northeastern end of Venosa, the abbazia (abbey) was erected above the Roman temple around 1046 by the Benedictines and predates the Norman era…
Lecce
While the Normans built the original castle in the 12th century, it became associated with the Spanish Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who enlarged it…
Lecce
Below the ground level of the piazza is this restored 2nd-century-AD amphitheatre, discovered in 1901 by construction workers. It was excavated in the…
Otranto
Built in the late 15th century, when Otranto was more populous and important than today, and not long after the Ottoman raid that resulted in the…
Promontorio del Gargano
A short flight of stairs opposite the Santuario di San Michele leads to a 12th-century baptistry with a deep sunken basin for total immersion. You enter…
Trani
Traditionally (but controversially) thought to be built by the Knights Templar in the 12th century, this church became a place of blessing for those…
Taranto
Guarding the swing bridge that joins the old and new parts of town, this impressive 15th-century structure, built on Norman and Byzantine predecessors,…
Calabria
The Chiesetta di Piedigrotta is an underground cave full of carved stone statues. It was carved into the tufa rock by Neapolitan shipwreck survivors in…
Calabria
This neat little 15th-century castle is named for Joachim Murat, brother-in-law of Napoleon Bonaparte and briefly King of Naples, captured in Pizzo and…
Museo Nazionale del Bergamotto
Reggio Calabria
Housed in Reggio's former covered market, this museum, which opened in 2018, showcases the interesting 300-year-old history of the region's bergamot…
Alberobello
Trullo Sovrano dates in parts to the early 17th century, and is Alberobello's only two-floor trullo. Built by a wealthy priest’s family, it’s now a small…
Bari
Originally constructed from 1912 to 1914, this historic theatre was restored and reopened in 2018 and is now used for travelling art and photographic…
Basilicata
The remains of the 6th-century Temple of Hera – 15 columns and sections of pavement – are Metaponto's most impressive sight. They're known as the Tavole…
Calabria
Gerace has Calabria's largest Romanesque cathedral. Dating from 1045, its three aisles are divided by columns salvaged from classical villas and temples…
Trani
Two hundred metres north of the cathedral is one of Trani's major landmarks, the vast, almost modernist Swabian castle built by Frederick II in 1233…
Museo Nazionale d'Arte Medievale e Moderna della Basilicata
Matera
The Palazzo Lanfranchi, built as a seminary incorporating an earlier church in the 17th century, now houses this intriguing museum of sacred and…
Museo di Civiltà Preclassiche della Murgia
Ostuni
Located in the Convento delle Monacelle, the museum's most famous exhibit is Delia, a 25,000-year-old expectant mother. Pregnant at the time of her death,…
Calabria
Le Castella is named for its impressive 16th-century Aragonese fortress, a vast edifice linked to the mainland by a short causeway, and that once…
Museo Provinciale Sigismondo Castromediano
Lecce
This museum stylishly covers 10,000 years of history, from Palaeolithic and Neolithic bits and bobs to a handsome display of Greek and Roman jewels,…
Tropea
The beautiful Norman cathedral has two undetonated WWII bombs near the door: it’s believed they didn’t explode due to the protection of the town’s patron…
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Crotone
Calabria
Founded in 710 BC, the powerful city state of Kroton was known for its sobriety and high-performing Olympic athletes. Crotone's museum is located in the…
Basilicata
The ruins of the original settlement of Maratea, supposedly founded by the Greeks, are situated at a higher elevation than the current village on a rocky…
Basilicata
This small but important museum is a real throwback to the days when precious artefacts of the past sat soberly behind glass, accompanied only by simple…
Brindisi
The gleaming white column above a sweeping set of sun-whitened stairs leading to the waterfront promenade marks the terminus of the Roman Via Appia at…
Vieste
Built by the Normans on the ruins of a Vesta temple, this 11th-century 'co-cathedral' (so called because its bishopric is shared with another) is in…
Matera
For a glimpse of life in old Matera, visit this historic sasso off Via Bruno Buozzi. There's a bed in the middle, a loom, a room for manure and a section…
Alberobello
On the eastern side of Via Indipendenza is Rione Aia Piccola. This neighbourhood is much less commercialised than Rione Monti, with 400 trulli, many still…
Lecce
Known by the locals as Santa Maria della Luce, this graceful little church bears the fingerprints of Giuseppe Zimbalo, as much of baroque Lecce does. The…
Lecce
Also known as the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista (Church of John the Baptist), this elaborately fronted church was prodigious Leccese architect Giuseppe…
Chiesa di Santa Lucia alle Malve
Matera
Dating to the 8th century, when it was built as the Benedictine Order's first foothold in Matera, this cliff-face church has a number of 13th-century…
Alberobello
Within the old town quarter of Rione Monti more than 1000 trulli cascade down the hillside, many of which are now souvenir shops. The area is surprisingly…
Gallipoli
On the island, Gallipoli's 17th-century cathedral is a baroque beauty that could compete with anything in Lecce. Not surprisingly, Giuseppe Zimbalo, who…
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