Puglia and Basilicata: an exclusive itinerary that combines culture with folklore and allows to discover Italy off-the-beaten-path

Our Signature:
Small Group of 20 or fewer
Plenty of Activities Included
Expert English-speaking Tour Guide

Puglia and Basilicata Tour Itinerary

Day 1: Welcome to Italy. Bari airport – Matera

Private airport transfer to Matera. Hotel check-in and dinner at hotel’s restaurant. (D)

Day 2: Matera – Crypt of Original Sin

After breakfast, today’s tour will take you to the heart of ancient Matera, the Sassi. Matera  is Italy’s magical city of stone, one of the most interesting, unusual and memorable destinations in Italy. Old Matera is split into two sections – the Sasso Barisano and the Sasso Caveoso – separated by a ridge upon which sits Matera’s cathedral. Tour will allow you to visit a rupestrian cave church and a former rupestrian house, showing how inhabitant used to live.

Less then 30 minutes from Matera is the Park of Rupestrian Churches. Known as the Sistine Chapel of cave art, the Crypt of Original Sin houses 9th-century frescoes and is one of the most fascinating cave churches in Matera.
The most famous painting in the crypt is one that portrays the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise with a fig symbolising the forbidden fruit. The Crypt is one of the most ancient testimonies of the rupestrian art of Southern Italy.  (Entry fee included)

The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1993 and  in 2019 the city was recognised as a European Capital of Culture.  Also, this fascinating historical setting that has been used as a backdrop location for Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ”.

Back to the hotel for some relax by the swimming pools before dinner. (B,D)

Day  3: FD Calanchi (Badlands): Craco and Aliano

After breakfast, you will have a really off-the-beaten-path tour. The Calanchi – or Badlands – is all about  lunar landscape and steep cliffs that stand out against rolling and gentle hills. It is an amazing place, it looks like the Cappadocia in Turkey. The same geological context: a clay soil with water flowing on, digging deep grooves. Then the sun burns and creates some kind of wrinkles on the ground, where the water can infiltrate. It ends turning into many sharp and bare ridges, like a moonscape, charming and empty, where just the goats can graze.

For centuries, Craco was a dynamic place with a large population of agricultural laborers, artisans, clergymen, and professionals. Craco was built at the apex of a large and isolated hill, a beautiful location which was perfect for the Normans to build a defensive tower in 1040. Today, it’s pretty off the beaten track, and the only residents you’re likely to see are cats, dogs, or horses or maybe even a ghost or two. The crumbling buildings and hilltop setting provided the perfect set for scenes in movies like Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ and the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. Due to its historic nature and architectural value, the town was added to the World Monuments Fund watch list in 2010.

The tour continues  to Aliano, a mysterious village perched on the badlands, just like an island in a sea made of clay. Aliano is the perfect choice for those who want to visit a place beyond space and time. Some of the most touching scenes of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ were shooted in here. Rumors has that witches, crones, jinxes and naughty spirites (called “monachicchi”) wander around silent Aliano. To keep them aways, Aliano inhabitants used to give to their houses’ main entrance the shape of human faces. The so-called “Casa del malocchio” (Jinx house) is a perfect witness of this habit.

Back to the hotel for dinner. (B, D)

Day 4: Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa  (Lucanian Dolomites) – Tricarico

Today’s tour will take you to the Lucanian Dolomites, where everything is about deep valleys, spine-like ridges and weird rock formations.
The two charming hilltop villages of Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa, both members of the exclusive Borghi più Belli d’Italia (the Most Beautiful Villages of Italy) stay at its heart.
Pietrapertosa is the highest village and is built on a mountainside. It is a maze of small streets that go up and down, offering at every turn a panorama worthy of the gods.
Castelmezzano is surely one of Italy’s most theatrical villages: the houses huddle along an impossibly narrow ledge that falls away in gorges to the Rio di Caperrino.
To guard this medieval jewels, made of steep stairs, narrow alleys, houses climbing on the rock, are the Piccole Dolomiti Lucane which, higher up, following dedicated paths, they reveal an enchanting landscape.

Drving back to Matera, you will enjoy a stop in Tricarico, a lovely medieval town, famous for its historical centre, that will push you back on time.
Tricarico is also well-known for cured meat, and you will taste some, like sausages and ham with olive oil bruschetta. Why salami from Tricarico are so famous? The first edition of the Touring Club guide in 1931 recommended a stop in the Matera area to sample a cured meat called “pezzente”, produced from pork meat mixed with sweet Senise peppers or ground chili peppers, wild fennel, minced fresh garlic and sea salt. Today, Tracarico salami are recognized as a “Sloow Food Presidium”.

Back to the hotel for dinner. (B,D)

Day  5: Matera – Grottaglie – Maduria, the land of Primitivo: wine tasting is unmissable – Lecce

Breakfast in the hotel. Driving along a really scenographic way from Matera, passing by vineyards, rustic masserias, olive groves, dry masonry stone fences, the tour will take you to Grottaglie, the city of ceramics,  and to  Manduria, the land of Primitivo wine in Puglia.

Imagine a town that has survived for hundreds of years on making beautiful hand-made ceramics. Add a twist of Southern Italian charm and hundreds of artisans turning clay into pots, jugs, plates, cups, saucers, statues and other works of art – then you would have Grottaglie.
Not far from the sparkling Ionian Sea, this was part of Magna Grecia during the period almost 3000 years ago when the Greeks had expanded their empire to include the fertile lands of southern Italy. So Grottaglie has serious history.  The Quartiere della Ceramica has been where it is since the middle ages so it is bursting with history. All the classics of ceramica pugliese are here; the dot flower pattern, the rooster jugs, the Pumo, an elegant single coloured glazed cone with feathers, said to bring good fortune, and which are to be found on all the balconies around the historic centre of the town.

In Puglia’s Salento, the city of Manduria is an intriguing warren of lanes jumbled with cream-colored homes and palaces. The old town still retains the original section of the medieval Jewish ghetto. Manduria is a good place for wine enthusiasts, as this is the heart and soul of Primitivo di Manduria, one of Puglia’s best-known wines. “Primitivo di Manduria” grows in the Manduria flatlands along the Ionian coastside in a red soil made out of limestone and clay. Because of climate and soil conditions, it produces a juicy, smoothy, sweety wine. A wine tasting will follow the city tour:  3 labels (Primitivo di Manduria DOC e Negroamaro  IGT) along with tarallini, cheese, salame, almond sweets, water.

Back on the bus, it’s time to get to Lecce. Dinner at hotel restaurant. (B,D)

Day 6: Lecce – Corigliano d’Otranto

Breakfast in the hotel. Today’s tour will show one of the most beautiful city in Italy. Lecce is the Baroque masterpiece of southern Italy. Sometimes described as the ‘Florence of the South’, Lecce is really  a gorgeous place, and the historic centre’s small size, restricted to cars, allows to wander among narrow streets of golden sandstone, hidden piazzas, extravagantly carved baroque churches.
It is in the ancient heart of the city, that Lecce’s elegant baroque palazzi and churches can be found. The finest example of Puglian baroque is, without doubt, the Basilica of Santa Croce, a wonderfully ornate edifice situated next to the Palazzo dei Celestini. Exuberant figurative, floral and mythological motifs characterize the façades of both buildings.

Lecce Papier-mâchè
Well-known for its Baroque style, not many tourists know that the city of Lecce is also famous for the papier-mâché art, cartapesta in Italian. The art of papier-mâché in Lecce, a phenomenon unique to Puglia, dates back to a period between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the development of arts was linked to the increasing number of churches and monuments. The craftsmen did not have access to precious materials, and as such they were forced to make use of other, poorer materials such as straw, rags, glue and plaster. The small shops around Lecce cathedral are full of painted figures of all sizes, some religious, others peasants going about their daily tasks, or ornamental flowers and jewellery.

The last leg of the day is a tour in Corigliano d’Otranto, one of the nine towns of the so-called “Grecia Salentina”, a cluster of villages between Lecce and Maglie, where residents still speak grico, the Italiot Greek dialect, preserving strong historic ties with Greece, dating back thousands of years. This characteristic village has its roots in ancient Greece, telling stories of ladies and knights, castles and battles. You can get lost in the magic of its historic center, enhanced by the typical courtyard houses.

Back to Lecce and dinner in the hotel.

Day 7: Nardò – Gallipoli

Today is time to visit the south-west corner of Puglia.
Have you ever visited a new place and felt ‘wow’ about it? For many visitors, it happens when in Nardò. For those who love finding places that are off the beaten track, places to discover and feel like you’re a pioneer. Nardò in Puglia is one of those discoveries. Puglia’s Salento is full of surprises and Nardò is one of its best secrets. It is a lovely and charming old town, filled with palazzi, courtyards and churches. Nardò may not be as popular as other cities in Puglia, but don’t let that fool you. You will be surprised by this hidden destination. Like much of Salento, Nardò is a gourmet heaven and there are few tourists, wild beaches, clear seas and acre upon acre of olive trees.  After city tour departure toward Gallipoli.

Gallipoli lives up to the provenance of its name, ‘beautiful city’ in Greek. The old town centre sits on a tiny island connected to the mainland by a 17th century bridge. It is almost completely surrounded by defensive walls, built mainly in the 14th century. Behind its castle lies a maze of picturesque streets filled with quaint shops, cafés and restaurants. Despite its small size, Gallipoli is packed with historic and cultural treasures, and it’s home to numerous impressive Baroque churches and aristocratic palazzi. In the 18th century, Gallipoli was home to the largest olive oil market in the Mediterranean. From its ports, ships laden with olive oil sailed to major European cities where the oil was used for lighting. It is said that olive oil from Gallipoli lit the streets of London before the advent of the electric bulb. At that time oil mills were built underground, for security but also for optimal production. Guests will visit an ancient underground oil mills. Gallipoli once had an underground network of 35 oil mills. The largest one  has been restored and now can tell  a lot of fun facts.

Back to Lecce for dinner. (B,D)

Day 8: Lecce – Martina Franca – Alberobello – Bari

Today, the tour will take you to Bari, not before having a tour of Valle d’Itria and its lovely towns.

Martina Franca is one of Puglia’s most beautiful towns, overflowing with elegant Baroque architecture and delightful trattorias specializing in exquisite cold cuts (capocollo ham). Its centro storico is an alluring mix of narrow twisting alleys and dazzling white houses interspersed with sunny open piazzas.
A bit bigger than the neighboring towns, it has long been the commercial center of the region, which is evident in the centuries-old palazzi, and exquisitely ornate basilicas. The largest church in Martina Franca is Basilica di San Martino, a grand baroque and rococo construction. Palazzo Ducale has rooms that are free to visit with frescoed walls.

After  lunch,  it’s time to visit one of the most enchanting places of all Italy. Alberobello is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its maze of hilly cobblestone paths lined with charming conical-roofed trulli, the white town  seems straight out of a children’s story book. Alberobello has over 1,500 densely packed trulli. These buildings are unique to the Itria Valley and were originally built as field shelters or for storage, and in some cases as dwellings for rural families.The majoity of the trulli are clustered in two neighborhoods—over 1,000 are in Rione Monti and another 400 are in Rione Aia Piccola. There are two  excellent museums in Alberobello that provide a better understanding of the trulli and they are included in our tour, entry fees included. You will make a stop at Martinucci’s pasticceria (pastry shop) for a cmplimentary pasticciotto, a custard-filled pastry in flavors like pistachio and ricotta with chocolate.

Back on the bus, destination Bari. Dinner in the hotel. (B,D)

Day 9: Old Bari, between sea and reality, tradition and entertainment

After breakfast, you will discover Puglia’s capital. Most travellers skip Bari on their way to Puglia’s more renowed places. That is a huge mistake, if you ask us. In many ways, it is in Bari that the heart and soul of Puglia is to be found. Bari is real, is enchanting. This is a city where the past has shaped today, yet it is not a city living off the glories of yesteryear. Instead Bari is young and vibrant, you can feel the energy in the air.

Like many of Puglia’s cities and towns, the majority of what interests people lies within the walls of the old city, or as it’s known here, Bari Vecchia. Narrow stone-lined streets of fading pastels and white, wrought-iron balconies and, of course, those beautiful shuttered windows. In the morning, you will have a guided tour of the Old Town where there is so much to discover, such as the imposing medieval Swabian fortress and the massive Romanesque cathedral with its 11th-century frescoes, while opera lovers may know that Bari is home to the magnificent Teatro Petruzzelli. For many, though, the focal point is the Basilica di San Nicola, whose 900-year-old vaulted crypt is the final resting place of Saint Nicholas, Patron Saint of Russia – better known to us as Father Christmas.

At the old harbour life continues as it has for centuries. This is where the traditional fishing boats land their catches and sell their seafood straight off their boats.
It’s in via dell’Orecchietta that you will get to experience one of Bari’s most legendary traditions: locals sitting in their doorways and kneading pasta dough to make typical orecchiette in the street. Here and there, you may come across chattering matriarchs sitting outside their doorsteps making, hand-rolling and cutting different types of pasta, a practice unchanged through time.

Having delved into the history of the city, you will head to a traditional local eatery for a well-earned complimentary food tasting. It’s time to be treated to a delicious snack of typical focaccia, one of the most well-loved recipes in Bari, for the finishing touch on an excellent sightseeing tour.

In the afternoon, let’s getting ready for a pasta making class. Our destination is a farmhouse 20 minutes from Bari city centre,  a quiet location, immerse in a olive orchard.  Nonnas will teach how to make Orecchiette from the scratch. Dinner will follow at the same place: orecchiette (and more) will be tonight’s meal! (B,D)

Day 10: Bari, end of the tour

Breakfast in the hotel, transfer to the airport.  End of our services. (B)

Puglia and Basilicata Tour Accommodation

In Matera: 4 nights
The 4-star hotel surprises in style. With its hilltop location in a five-hectare garden, the hotel offers high quality services, 24 hour complimentary Business Center with printing facilities, complimentary high-speed internet access, Pavillon Pantry Convenience mart, 24-hour guest laundry, fitness center. Rooms are tastily furnished, with AC, safe, coffee facilities . A wellness SPA offers an indoor swimming pool with jacuzzi, turkish bath, while the garden boasts a large outdoor swimming pool.

In Lecce: 3 nights
The modern 4-star hotel is just few minutes away from Lecce historic centre. The hotel’s rooms is  pure expression of quality and comfort. To allow Guests to enjoy the best quality of relax, rooms feature Simmons mattresses and sommier and also offer a selection of pillows. Free high-speed Wi-Fi connection. 40” fullHD TV with direct internet access and Sky Channels. In the Comfort Room Guests will find a large chromotherapy shower with which you can create the atmosphere they want: relaxing, energizing or romantic – the chromotherapy shower light the room up the room with different colours.

In Bari: 2 nights
An exclusive 4-star hotel nestled in the green of an ancient park, near the center of Bari and 800 m from the central station. Rooms, with free WiFi, featured modern furnishing . Restaurant with open kitchen that celebrates Puglia’s flavors. Fitness center with gym, sauna and steam room. Outdoor swimming pool.

Included
Private RT airport transfer
Private bus transportation
English-speaking tour guide, escorting the group throughout
9 nights accomodation on half board basis (breakfast and dinner – ¼ wine + ½ water), twin or double room
Complimentary pastry in  Alberobello
Complimentary Focaccia in Bari
Salame, ham and oilve oil bruschetta tasting
Wine tasting
Pasta Making class
Entrance fees as per programme
Insurance

Not included
Hotel city tax ( €2 per person per night)
Extras, drinks and personal expenses
Gratuities and porterage

Double Room for single Use Supplement € 550,00