Together with the rich harvest of the land, the seas abundance combine to produce “Terra e Mare” of the renowned “La Tavola Pugliese” – oftentimes claimed to be the best cuisine in all Italy and of which the Pugliese are so justifiably proud.
Take the time to pause and watch patient fishermen untangling their nets with their grandsons helping “Nonno” as they sort out the days rainbow-tinted catch of prawns, squid, octopus, crab and fish. In chains of coastal villages, traditional gaily painted wooden boats can be seen in countless small harbours. In springtime, it is still possible in places to watch farmers tilling the fields with horses between the emerging crops of artichokes and chicory, in the traditional fashion they learned from their fathers and grandfathers. The porous underlying rock strata, apart from creating fabulous cave systems such as Castellana Grotte and the sea-washed Grotta Zinzulusa, holds vast amounts of ground water irrigating abundant yields of aubergines, tomatoes, courgettes and fennel, the fertile rich red soils supply much of Italy and further beyond with fresh vegetables, salads and an overwhelming diversity of fruit. Autumn harvest time, finds trailers groaning as they transport the weight of their precious load to the local Cantina, in which the grapes are transformed into the rich, ruby wines, characteristically strong and redolent with the aromas of the recent but now fading summer.
Today vast olive groves that produce 70% of Italy s olive oil, cover much of the flat plains and shade innumerable access paths that wind for countless miles to the delight of touring cyclists.Įxtensive vineyards of the excellent Primitivo and Negromare grapes result in Puglia alone producing more wine than Germany and almost 10% of total EU output. Walled towns and villages cling to hilltops, built there originally for protection and security. Their architecture, cuisine and customs intertwine in this beautiful and exotic destination, each leaving after them, imposing fortresses, grand palaces and Masseria, castles, cathedrals, churches and coastal towers. Later ages saw Aragonese Spanish and Venetian fight Turk for control of this landscape till the the Puglia of the Bourbon Kingdom was finally incorporated into the unification of Italy in !861.Įach culture and civilization has left its own record, forming threads of the rich tapestry that makes up Puglia and its inhabitants today. Throughout this much contested territory, Romans were followed by Goths and Lombards, Byzantines and Saracens, Normans were supplanted by Frederick Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire. History is layered upon layer in this Mediterranean land, dating from the early megalithic monuments of Menhirs and Dolmens, Magna Grecia with its Ancient Greek colonies, and through the dead cities of Ignazia and Canne della Battaglia, site of the epic Roman defeat at Cannae by the Carthaginians under Hannibal during the Punic wars. The Karst limestone of the Murgia uplands and the cliffs around the out-thrusting Gargano peninsular and Tremiti Islands, give way to sandy beaches with low rocky coves as the coast runs south into and around the Salento, sometimes nicknamed Italy’s third “Island” after Sicily and Sardinia. Puglia has over 800 kms of stunning coastline. Stretching from the province of Foggia in the North, all the way down to the Salento peninsular in the South – where the 3 seas of the Adriatic, Aegean and the Ionian meet off the rocky headland under the church above Santa Maria Di Leuca.
The sun drenched land of Puglia ( Apulia) lies along the “heel” of Italy’s boot.
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