Day 1. Bari arrival
Day 2. Alberobello / Martina Franca / Locorotondo
Day 3. Cisternino / Ostuni
Day 4. Lecce / Corigliano d'Otranto
Day 5. Gallipoli
Day 6. Corigliano d'Otranto / Salice Salentino / Lecce
Day 7. Departure
"In Puglia, there is a feeling of being marooned in an older kind of time."
(
Patience Gray)
Ask for everything you might need about culinary traditions....
Apulian Wine Escapes, Cooking Courses, Cultural tours, Fly&Drive
Apulia is full of good restaurants of every type, but the best eating in the region may be found in the superb “trattorias” and casual restaurants with which virtually every town is populated, often in places where you least expect to find that ideal mix of unbelievably good simple food, enchanting surroundings, and good wine.
The humble food of Apulia often referred to as “cucina povera”, the cuisine of poverty, is celebrated as one of the best examples of the healthy Mediterranean Diet. Three things are essential to the Apulian kitchen: wheat, vegetables, and olive oil. Semolina flour is transformed into a variety of handmade pastas (some shaped like little ears, others like concave shells, others still like thick ropes) which are boiled with wild or cultivated greens, tossed with hearty meat ragùs, or cooked into soups. Wheels of rustic bread are baked in the ovens of Altamura and other Apulian towns, to be enjoyed as companions to daily meals and serve as the starting point for numerous appetizers, salads, soups, and simple desserts.
Some example of the most interesting offering are: “orecchiette”, (little ears) the typical pasta of this region manually made with hard flour and water, pressed with a thumb to resemble little ears that catch and hold the pasta sauce;“friseddha”, a twice-baked ring-shaped bread; “tiella”, rice baked with potatoes and seafood or vegetables to make an unusual main course; “ricci” (sea urchins) savoured raw, flavoured with a squeeze of lemon to underscore their briny flavour; “turcinieddhi” (offal) prepared with lamb's hearts, lights and intestines, skewered and cooked on a blazing grill, then eaten with raw celery and sharp sheep's milk cheese; “panzarotti”, a wrapper of dough filled with ricotta, mozzarella or onions; “burrata”, (buttered) a small wet ball of cow's milk fresh mozzarella, filled with diced mozzarella soaked in cream; “ricotta forte” is a spicy sheep's milk ricotta (aged for a month), “scamorza”, a mild creamy cheeses that hang in ball and pear shapes in cheese shops; “fava bean puree” with sautéed chicory and olive oil; “polpi arriciati” (curled octopus).
But also an outstanding array of vegetables to be eaten only in season, like: fava beans, artichokes, broccoli, eggplants, sweet peppers, tomatoes, along with wild pungent greens such as chicory or cicorielle, wild hyacinth bulbs or lampascione, arugula, and dandelion.
Itinerary and price requests:
If you are interested in this package, tour dates could be scheduled upon demand, for individuals or private groups of minimum 8 people. If you would like us to customize it for you, mail us your requirements and we will reply with a tailored itinerary.
Prices will depend on typology of chosen accommodations, number of partecipants, requested period and additional services.
Day 1 : Bari arrival
Afternoon arrival at Bari airport. You will be picked up by your private driver and taken to your Hotel, where you will check in. Welcome cocktail and light
dinner.
Overnight.
Day 2: Alberobello / Martina Franca / Locorotondo.
Morning guided tour of Alberobello, the trulli capitol of Puglia recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Site. Trulli are unique to Puglia and these mysterious buildings, with thick limestone walls and graceful conical roofs, originated hundreds of years ago. Visit to a winery, with out-museum, and wine tasting.
Transfer to Martina Franca, time to explore on your own and have free lunch. In the afternoon guided tour to this nice town, built 431 meters above sea level and affording sweeping views of the surrounding villages. The center is home to the Ducal Palace, built in the latter half of the 17th century by the noble Caracciolo family.
From Martina Franca, you will take a scenic drive overlooking Locorotondo which literally means “round place”, named for the shape of the first village there. In Locorotondo you will enjoy a meat tasting accompained with local wines.
Back to the hotel and overnight.
Day 3: Cisternino / Ostuni
Breakfast and transfer to Cisternino for a cheese making demonstration. Visit to the historical center and transfer to Ostuni for lunch.
In the early afternoon guided tour of Ostuni, one of the most beautiful villages in Puglia best known as "the White Town", situated in the midst of the green countryside and the blue sea. The historical center of the town is on a hillside, surrounded by small white washed houses overlooking the shore.
Back in Cisternino for a dinner with meat tasting, in a traditional "fornello" (butchery in which you choose the meat that will be cooked under your eyes...)
Overnight.
Day 4: Lecce / Corigliano d'Otranto
Breakfast, check out and transfer to Lecce for a guided tour. Well known to many as the "Florence of the South", in the city center you will immediately notice the Baroque style of architecture, especially while visiting the Basilica di Santa Croce and the Duomo. Lunch in typical "trattoria".
In the afternoon transfer to Corigliano d’Otranto and check in "masseria" (a farmhouse dated back to the 18th century, restored into a wonderful accommodation.). Time to relax.
Dinner (with optional "Pizzica" music entertainment) and overnight.
Day 5: Gallipoli
Breakfast and some free time before your cooking class in your farmhouse: a hands on cooking class taught by one of their chefs. The class will end with a lunch of the items that you have helped to prepare.
Afternoon guided tour of Gallipoli, an island linked to the mainland by a bridge, including the visit to a subterranean olive oil mill followed by an olive oil tasting. Dinner in Gallipoli, based on fish menu.
Back to the masseria and overnight.
Day 6: Corigliano d'Otranto / Salice Salentino / Lecce
Breakfast and check out. This morning you will have a wonderful time walking in the woods, here in Corigliano d'Otranto, with our local truffle hunting expert. He will teach you how to find the truffles, and later he will show you how good fresh truffles can be. You will finish the hunt with lunch at our experts’ restaurant. Enjoy!
Afternoon guided visit of an ancient winery for a wine tasting, in Salice Salentino. Dinner in historical “masseria”
Overnight in Lecce.
Day 7: Departure
Breakfast and check out. Transfer to the Brindisi airport, for departure.