Puglia is officially the South. What I mean by that, is that you will notice a slower pace here and a warm welcome that causes you in turn to slow down and enjoy a relaxed vacation. The scenery is varied from hilltop villages with white washed houses to beautiful towns and resorts on the Adriatic. The food is excellent and like nothing you have had in the North. The cool thing about Italy is how much the food changes from region to region. Puglia has been discovered but it is not overrun with tourists like some places in Italy. In short, it is a great place to spend some time exploring and eating well.
Monopoli
Monopoli is a charming small city centrally located for touring multiple towns including Polignano a Mare, Locorotondo, Martina Franca and Alberobello. Lecce is only about 1 hour and 20 Minutes by train and it is also a fine city to visit. You can easily make these all part of a day trip from Monopoli. Monopoli seems unspoilt by modern tourism.
Hotel
Hotel Don Ferrante
This is a lovely hotel located directly on the Adriatic Sea with a fantastic terrace overlooking the sea. The staff is wonderful and they serve a good breakfast. Beds are comfortable and the rooms are immaculate. Something about the place just dropped my blood pressure once I was settled in the room. Try to get a sea view room.
Eats
Locanda Indelli
Located on Piazza Garibaldi in the old part of town. You are in the sea so expect plenty of seafood. Some dishes to try are Fish Carpaccio to start and fish of the day with tomatoes, olives and capers. They also do an excellent job with the Octopus salad. For non-seafood lovers they offer up Eggplant Parmigiano which my wife thoroughly enjoyed.
Ristorante Piazza Palmieri
This is a good choice for a seafood restaurant that delivers delicious dishes. There are also some pastas and appetizers with meat if you are more inclined to go that way.
Angelo Sabatelli
If you feel like traveling ~30 minutes for dinner then you can treat yourself to this Michelin starred restaurant located in a beautiful Masseria. Very nice dining room with beautiful tables. We opted for the 10 course tasting menu and if you choose you can also add a wine tasting menu. Very interesting cuisine. Be ready for a long night, we were there for ~3 hours. One interesting note - I had a cola that must have been very special because the waiter decanted it at the wine station!
Polignano a Mare
A beautiful town with white washed houses clinging to the cliffs of the town. There is a splendid old town (Centro Storico) that offers up a good walk. The main sight here is really the town itself and it is worth a daytrip.
Eats
Antiche Mura
Located in the Old Town, this is an excellent restaurant with a beautiful interior if you choose not to sit outside. Their specialty is, of course, fish. We enjoyed a delicious Caprese Salad, Pasta stuffed with cheese and asparagus and a delicious Zuppa di Pesce (seafood soup). This is also a good place to try chicory, a typical Puglian dish.
Locorotondo
This is another of the white washed villages that can be incorporated into a daytrip. It is a lovely place to stop in on and enjoy the lovely centro storico. As with many of these smaller villages, there is not much to see but wandering around the beautiful streets makes for an enchanting time. Take a break and pay for a coffee or drink at an outdoor patio and just take the town in. It is a wonderful way to pass some time.
Eats
Note: All restaurants in this section were recommended by the person who checked us in to the VRBO we were staying in so they are all very authentic.
Il Rosone Osteria
Located in the historical center of Locorototndo, this place is a modernized eatery in an old building. The menu is a combo of traditional Pugliese dishes with some twists. The Orichiette with baraciole and meatballs was very good and my wife enjoyed the melanzane ripieni. We started the meal with an Anitipasti Misti that included tuna, eggplant, salad fried fava beans and a frittata with roasted red peppers.
Here is a link to the menu - there does not appear to be one on the webste
Bina Ristorante
Another restaurant located in the center of Locorotondo. This is in a lovely building. The food and service are excellent. One caution is to read the menu carefully. This is a very traditional ristorante and they do serve donkey (asino). However, there are many other lovely dishes here. We enjoyed a pasta dish and "bombette" which turned out to be pork braciole. I can also recommend the roasted veggies
Martina Franca
Part of a nice day trip from Ostuni or Monopoli. Lovely small town with a mix of Baroque and Medieval architecture. Check out the porticoes shown in the above picture, they are quite stunning and the piazza is lovely.
Eats
There are good choices in the town but we fell in love with a restaurant inside a Trulli outside of town that we have visited a couple of times. Read below.
Trattoria della Ruote
Housed in a charming Trullo with all sorts of antique items hanging on the wall, this place is hosted by two charming brothers. We have had a couple of meals here and always enjoyed the mixed appetizer of Prosciutto, dry Sausage, Boccocini and other items. They offer up a Braciole as a main that is delicious. They also served a meatball when I was there, which quite honestly I have not seen many of in Italy. Also try the Chicory and Fava Bean puree. When we were there we were the only non locals in the place. The atmosphere, owners and food make this a lovely place to stop and make you feel like you are in the Real Italy.
Alberobello
This place is loaded with Trulli, conical houses and buildings that are particular to this region of Puglia. As such it is heavily touristed. I would not let that stop you from visiting because it is pretty wild to see so many in one town. This is another town that should be included in a daytrip from your base.
Ostuni
A great base for exploring the area. It has it all, fast rail connection to Lecce in under an hour, short trip to some of the smaller towns mentioned in this Blog and great food. It is a lovely town that we thoroughly enjoyed. During one of our trips we stayed here for four nights and toured a good portion of Puglia. It is a great base.
Eats
In many restaurants in this part of Puglia they serve up great antipasto with as many as 10-12 different dishes.
Osteria La Sparacima
Excellent restaurant with white washed walls in the historic center. We had an appetizer plate with multiple plates which is popular in this area of Puglia. We followed up with, Pasta Purses stuffed with Artichoke and mint, Ravioli stuffed with Porcini mushrooms, Oriechette and Broccoli Rabe (a classic Puglian dish) and a couple of meat dishes. Everything was prepared excellently. Highly recommend this place.
Ristorante La Vecchia Terrazza
Another excellent restaurant. It seems that this place is full of them. There are sea view seats available if you can nab one. They served a six course appetizer that was delicious. The place also serves very good Pizza. The Pizzas were huge so make sure you are hungry if you order one.
Osteria del Tempo Perso
Located in a really cool old stone building with vaulted ceilings, this is a very beautiful place to come for dinner. Of course they had the mixed appetizer plate which I just love about this area of Italy. They serve fresh pasta that is very well made in house. The meat courses were also delicious. Just be careful not to order the Asina which is Donkey unless you want to try something different.
Ristorante Odissea
Yes that’s right, we had the mixed appetizer plate. I am going to include the dishes to give you an idea of what they serve.
Torta Rustica with Cipollina, Mortadella and Ricotta
Carpaccio with Artichokes
Flan of Mushrooms
Phyllo stuffed with speck
Fava Bean Puree with Peppers
That was just the starter. They make good fresh pasta here.
Hotel
Ostuni Palace
Beautiful 4 star hotel a very short walk from the historic center. Try to get a room with a view if you can. The service is excellent, the beds are comfortable and the rooms are very clean.
Lecce
A stunning city in the deep south in the heel. This city is known as the Florence of the South although the buildings are mostly Baroque. It is about a 50 minute train ride from Ostuni if that's where you are based. Still relatively undiscovered by foreign tourists, this place has a beautiful feel to it. It is a great city to just wander around and enjoy the beauty of its architecture. It is worth a trip from Ostuni if that is where you are based. If you are staying here then there are beautiful clean beaches and a sparkling Sea.
Duomo of Santa Maria Assunta
A lovely Baroque Cathedral on a large Piazza, the place is even more beautiful in the evening when it and its surroundings are flooded with lights.
Old Town
In addition to being called Florence of the South, Lecce is also known as Citta Bianca for its beautiful white buildings. It is in a beautiful location and you can see the crystal clear sea from the town. This is really the reason to come here for a visit. It is great just to walk around and take in the beauty of the place.
Eats
Da Guido e Figli
This is a fish restaurant in town but it has a varied menu with a little bit of everything including Pizza. Try the pasta with lobster that is both good and reasonably priced as well as other pasta dishes and risotto dishes that are well prepared. This is a good spot for lunch on a daytrip.
Comentários