Puglia Region

Puglia is an Italian region of Southern Italy with 4.029 053 inhabitants, whose  capital  is Bari. It borders Molise to the north-west, Campania and Basilicata to the west and is washed by the Adriatic Sea to the east and north and by the Ionian Sea to the south. Until the first half of the twentieth century to describe the region, the toponym equivalent was used, declined in the plural, Puglie, to describe a place that hides different souls, suspended between nature, history, tradition, taste and spirituality, to be visited during all year around.

Puglia is an enchanting region, a strip of land that stretches into the sea with wonderful beaches and for all tastes, from the sandy Torre dell’Orso and Porto Cesario to the rocky coasts in Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca, where the Ionian – crystalline and calm – and the Adriatic – with an intense blue meet and mix. The options for those who love the sea are endless, from Gallipoli the “Gem of Salento” to the Gargano the “Heel of Italy”, which juts out into the clear waters of the sea which is home to the splendid Tremiti Islands.

Nature is always the protagonist, in Puglia, with the Murge National Park and that of the Gargano with the wild Umbra Forest, the salt marshes and the lakes. The marine reserve of Torre Guaceto, the deep ravines of Laterza and the large sinkholes of Altamura which, with their suggestive landscapes, characterize the internal part of the region, are also worth visiting. The variety of the landscape is one of the salient features of this area.

Rock churches, Romanesque cathedrals, and treasures of the Baroque enrich their artistic profile. Puglia is famous worldwide for its trulli, ravines, chaffs and sinkholes, the national park of Murge, as well as the basilicas, cathedrals and sanctuaries, different artistic expressions united by faith.

The baroque art of Lecce is unique in its kind, as well as that of the lesser known Martina Franca. Both, even if present among the tourist routes, will never be crowded. And this is the beauty of the interior of Puglia and some parts of its coasts, together with the exceptional gastronomy and a slowly light and colorful atmosphere.

The provinces of Puglia are: Bari (capital), Barletta Andria Trani, Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce, Taranto.