Puglia

By: Jennifer Milano, written August 2015

"Where are you going on your next trip?" is a question I hear often.  A few of those inquisitors follow up with a question that surprises me every time, "why are you going there?"  Sometimes, they clarify:  "I mean, do you have family there?"  I feel like I rarely have a compelling answer, something I can put into words to justify my destination choice.  My answer is usually the same regardless of destination - I want to see what it's like there. 

I spend a fair amount of time staring at world maps.  Often, my focus narrows on Italy.  Puglia is one of those places I traveled to mainly because I had been staring at the boot of Italy on my map for years, and wanted to see what the heel was like.  That's it.  That's the reason I went to Puglia - so that the next time I started at Italy's heel on my map, I would have photographic memories to associate with the paper on my wall. 

Most people who travel through Puglia catch only glimpses of the region, as they arrive into Bari or Brindisi by ship from Greece on their way to Rome or Florence.  Here is what they missed:

How we got here:  We flew Ryan Air from Pisa to Brindisi, which was inexpensive and easy.  (Beware, Ryan Air has strict baggage rules, and extra charges for nearly everything, but it's still inexpensive overall.)  Alitalia flies from Rome to Bari and Brindisi.  You will need a car in Puglia, and we rented one from the airport in Brindisi.  Brindisi is not known for its beauty, but rather for its port, so we high-tailed it out of there toward our first farm stay.

Where we stayed:  Puglia is bigger than you'd think, with the more popular towns concentrated in the northern part of Puglia.  But, for no particularly good reason, I really wanted to stand at the southern tip of Puglia.  Since our kids hate sitting in the car for hours on end, we split our nine nights in Puglia into two chunks - five nights near Ostuni in the northern part of Puglia, and four nights south of Lecce in the southern part of Puglia (also called the Salerno).  In the north, we absolutely loved our five nights at Masseria Cervarolo.  We stayed in a trullo, one of Puglia's conical-shaped structures built of stone, which we and the kids loved.  The air-conditioned room itself was spacious for a family of four, although the shower was tiny.  My mother stayed in a separate, non-trullo room that was nice, but smelled slightly musty.  The rooms are close together, but the thick stone walls ensure a silent night's sleep. 

As we learned during an impromptu, complimentary cooking class, Masseria Cervarolo's chef makes everything from scratch, including all of the focaccia, pasta and bread.  The food is absolutely delicious.  The breakfast buffet offers scrumptious homemade cakes, as well as freshly-squeezed juices and cooked eggs to order.  Be sure to try the fruit-infused local honeys at breakfast - the strawberry one was my favorite.  Dinner consists of several amazing, wonderful courses, all brought to the outdoor patio dining area (there is a beautiful indoor dining room if the weather is cool).  The kids can climb the olive trees and play soccer with the other younger guests in between courses.  We also ate a delicious lunch on the outdoor patio one afternoon.  I would have preferred to eat our lunch poolside, but only light snacks are served by the pool. 

The grounds are expansive, and although there are no real views to speak of, the farm itself is beautiful.  The zero-entry swimming pool is massive, and perfect for families.  There is good poolside seating with umbrellas for shade.  The wonderful woman who works poolside makes the most delicious fresh-fruit smoothies, juices and homemade popsicles, delivering them to your lounge chair.  Now that is my definition of vacation!

Teo, the owner, is friendly and extremely helpful in advising guests how to spend their days - visits to towns, caves, beaches and restaurants.  Upon departure, the masseria gave us a jar of the honey we enjoyed so much at breakfast to take home!

After five nights at Masseria Cervarolo, we drove south to Masseria Chicco Rizzo.  We were glad we stayed in the southern part of Puglia, giving us closer access to beautiful beaches, but we would not stay at Chicco Rizzo again.  The food and service were average.  The pool is beautiful, and the wait staff and housekeeping were very friendly.  But, the poolside drinks service was open for a mere hour on only one of our four afternoons by the pool.  It was closed the other days.  There was no staff available in the afternoons or at night after dinner, so if we wanted pool towels or help opening the malfunctioning gate to the premises, we were out of luck.  The property is more self-catering than it is advertised to be.  

So if I wouldn't recommend Masseria Chicco Rizzo, where should you stay near Lecce?  In October 2015, a new farm opened up called Masseria Trapana, just a ten-minute drive from Lecce.  The only review on TripAdvisor is from April 2016, and gives it high marks.

Where we ate: 

• La Taverna del Duca on a little side street in Locorotondo offers outdoor seating and tasty food.  I tried the local dish of baked mussels with rice and potatoes and loved it.
• Cisternino isan adorable little town filled with butcher shops that stay open late in the evening.  Pick one (we liked Al Vecchio Fornello), go inside and point to the meat you would like cooked for you.  Order some potatoes, too, but skip the lackluster salad (they are butchers, after all).  Our kids played soccer in the square with other children after dinner.
• Gusto Caruso in Polignano a Mare had the best gelato of our entire trip.  After I finished my gelato, I stood up and announced I was going to buy a second one.  My daughter quickly said, "me, too," before I could change my mind.  My husband, a self-proclaimed granita connosieur, declared the granita to be authentic and delicious.
• Trattoria Le Zie in Lecce was one of our best meals of the trip.  We felt as though we were eating in our great-aunt's Italian kitchen (the restaurant's name means "the aunts"), and every morsel of food was scrumptious.  But beware, there is horse meat on the menu...we didn't try it and our daughter was almost in tears at the thought.
• La Rusticana in Lecce serves a traditional rustico, kind of like a calzone.  Service is take-out or counter seating only at lunch, and the rustico was very good.
• Pasticceria Natale in Lecce makes gelato so good that it was worth a second trip for us.
• Gelateria Arte Fredda in Alberobello was amazing.

What we did:  I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I was oddly relieved when I read that Puglia has no famous historic sites.  No obligatory visits to a museum, ruin or cathedral.  We were free to do what we love to do most when we travel - explore villages, swim in the sea, sit outside in the summer sun and eat fresh Mediterranean food, and, to borrow one of my mother's favorite expressions, "soak up the atmosphere."  Here is a list of where we went within Puglia:

• Castellana Grotte is an extensive series of caves that my kids loved.  We did the longer tour so that we could see the Grotta Bianca (white grotto), which I think was worthwhile.  There is a lot of walking, but the paths are well-lit and well-traveled.
• Splash Acquapark was such a fun water park.  There are great water slides, a good sit-down pizza and pasta restaurant, and it felt like a true Italian cultural experience.  The dance floor in the middle of the park was filled with dancing Italians of all generations, and the exuberant DJ sprayed the happy partiers with suds from a huge cannon as they danced the afternoon away!  It was a busy summer day when we were there, but somehow there were no lines for the waterslides (maybe because everyone was on the dance floor?).
• Santa Maria di Leuca is the southernmost tip of Puglia.  Sometimes I see someplace on a map and I fantasize about standing there, with expectations of feeling like I'm someplace really special and fabulous.  Sometimes, I'm right.  With Santa Maria di Leuca, I was wrong.  It is pretty, and there is a lighthouse and beautiful views and all of that, but for us, it wasn't worth the time in the car to stand there.  I know what you are thinking.  Duh.
• Beaches:  There are so many sandy beaches with clear water in Puglia, it was hard to choose which ones to visit.  We spent a day at Laghi Alimini (the seaside, not the lake side), near Baia dei Turchi because the parking was convenient and the beach was beautiful.  Lounge chairs and umbrellas were about a third of the cost of those on Tuscan beaches.  On the west coast of Puglia, we liked Pescoluse.  We did not like Torre Mozza as much.  These beaches were also recommended to us, but we didn't have time for them on this trip:  Punta della Suina, Porto Cesareo, Torre dell'Orso, Santa Cesarea Terme, Baia di Porto Selvaggio and Baia dei Turchi.

• Cities, towns and villages: 
  • Alberobello is touristy, but fun for the kids because there are hundreds of trulli clustered together.  Stop for gelato at Gelateria Arte Fredda, which we all enjoyed more than the town.
  • Locorotondo is one of my favorite Puglian villages, because it is both beautiful and quiet.  We had a wonderful lunch at La Taverna del Duca and wandered the little residential streets afterward.
  • Cisternino is really nice to visit in the evening.  Eat dinner at one of the butcher shops that lets you point to your cut of meat in the case before grilling it for you to enjoy while sitting outside.  The old part of the village is tiny, but festive.
  • Ostuni has a pretty old town that is fun to explore.  We found the rest of the city to be kind of grimy.  We did visit the market in Ostuni, which was hard to find and far from the old part of town, but offered fresh produce and wonderful baked goods.
  • Martina Franca is a pretty baroque town with a pedestrian street, and piazzas that we loved strolling through in the evening.
  • Otranto is crowded and touristy, but has a nice pedestrian center with an easily-accessible shallow swimming and wading area.
  • Lecce is a sizable city, with a really nice pedestrian center and lots of ruins, churches and sites.  My kids were bored (as were we) by the castle here.  On the other hand, we ate well.  See above "Where we ate" for my three recommendations on where to dine in Lecce!
  • Polignano a Mare is an exceptionally beautiful seaside town, although crowded and touristy.  We wandered around the pedestrian center, enjoyed the gorgeous views over the cliffs to the sea, and ate gelato, and more gelato, at Gusto Caruso.  I would return to Polignano a Mare just for that gelato.

Next time:  We loved Puglia, although we probably won't return any time soon only because there is so much more of Italy to experience.  But if I'm blessed someday with unlimited travel time and funds, and find myself back in Puglia, here is what I would do:

• Eat a nine-course meal at Masseria Il Frantoio, near Ostuni
• Visit Gallipoli, and spend the day at Punta della Suina beach for its turquoise waters
• Spend an afternoon in Monopoli, stopping at nearby La Marea (in Savelletri di Fasano) for a sumptuous seafood dinner
• Eat lunch at the one-Michelin star Al Fornello di Ricci, just outside Ceglie Messapico
• Stay at Masseria Cervarolo again, and hope that the same smoothie wizard still whips up her poolside creations!

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