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Important commercial city of south Italy, oriental warm and cheerful, Bari is also a city full of history and rich in monuments and churches. The winding narrow streets of the historic centre, also known as Barivecchia, with its dialect, the habits, the festivity, its vestigia and scars from the various dominations such as Byzantine, Norman, Swabian, Angevin and Aragonese will make you discover a city rich in traditions.
In the Barivecchia, women carry on at their front door the culinary tradition of making the legendary”orecchiette”, a special pasta shape typical of Bari.
Not to miss:
Saint Nicola Cathedral, San Sabino Dome and the castle built in 1233 by Frederic II. |
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Around Bari:
Trani, an esteemed seaside resort, hides behind its modern buildings a city centre and monuments that remind of a particularly rich middle age. The roadstead of the tiny harbour and the white and ochre facades make up a truly pitoresque lansdcape.
In the old city centre, you'll find several narrow roads and lively "piazzas".
The beautiful cathedral stands up alone at the edge of the harbour, almost skimming the water.
Polignano a mare, perched on a cliff falling sheer to the sea, is one of the typical villages of the coast of Bari. Absolutely not to miss!
Monopoli, the last fishing port along the coast before Brindisi, still keeps its old style thanks to the medieval roads of the historic centre protected by the castle strategically placed on the sea front.
Not to miss: Castel del Monte Castle, the ancient Cathedral of Molfetta, Bisceglie Cathedral, the fishing village of San Vito, Conversano, Bitonto and its Apulian Romanesque Cathedral, the rocky sites of Monopoli, the coast with its inlets until Egnazia, Fasano and its “Selva”(national park) . |
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Alberobello :
With its trullis, the tipycal small houses with conic roofs and white clay facades, Alberobello seems a town coming out from a fairy tale.
Today a UNESCO world heritage treasure, the trulli area counts more than 1000 habitations sprinkled alongside the tiny paved roads over the hill. Many trullis now have been converted into shops or art galleries. Avoid the very tourist area to enjoy and fully appreciate this astonishing town.
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Around Alberobello :
Take a walk into the countryside of the Itria valley to appreciate the magic of this land, a countryside populated of secular crooked olive-trees and bordered with tiny dry-stone walls, and to discover Martina Franca, Locorotondo and Cisternino, not forgetting the Caves of Castellana.
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Ostuni:
A treasure of the region, Ostuni, the "white city", is no doubt one of the most visited cities of Apulia. Perched over three hills it seems a greek city with its white clay facades. The only colour touches are given by the pot of flowers on the balconies and the coloured shutters. From its location Ostuni dominates a huge valley of olive-groves producing an excellent extra virgin oil. At twilight the streets of the old town animate with games of light inviting people to prolong the feast. Not to miss: the cathedral with its magnificent rose-window, built in the 15th century in roman and gothic style.The archaeologic museum and a visit to a "Frantoio"; an ancient oil-mill. |
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Lecce :
Lecce stands in the heart of the salento peninsula, the furthermost southeastern region of Italy. "Blonde" and refined it is called the"baroque Florence". From 16th to 18th century the most extravagant architects and stone-cutters have covered the city with monuments of different styles such as Baroque, Renaissance and Rococo. The city buildings are the result of a large decorative research based on the work of the local calcareous stone, rosé and easy to sculpt. Craftsmen are easy to find in Lecce as they have been preserved. At night the city unveils a trendy atmosphere as people populate the city centre.
Not to miss :
Piazzal del Duomo, Santa Croce Basilica, the roman amphitheatre.
During December the crib market with figurines in papier-maché. |
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Otranto:
First a greek town, then roman, Otranto is a fortified town standing on a cliff facing the adriatic sea. The city is proud to possess one of the most ancient cathedrals of Apulia and the cathedral itself shelters an extraordinary mosaic pavement, probably the only one in Europe of its kind. You enter the old city by the door Alfonsina, rebuilt in 1481 by Alphonse of Aragon and surrounded by two cylindrical towers.
With superbs white sandy beaches, Otranto is also a well known sea-side resort.
Not to miss :
Saint Peters Basilica , the castle and its hard-stone stairs leading to the terrace alongside the fortificated boundary walls, from here you can enjoy a panoramic view of the old town. |
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Gallipoli:
The "pearl" of the Ionian Sea is also one of the jewels of Salento. Built on an island, the old town is connected to the modern city by a bridge.la vieille ville est reliée
à la ville moderne par un pont. Gallipoli, "the city of the sea" has snow-white houses and a nice fishing port It is constantly safeguarded by the squat towers of the castle and by the boundary walls imbued with saltness. Once past the bridge, elegant 18th century palaces stand along simple fishermen houses and numberless churches. Needless to say that also Gallipoli is well esteemed sea side resort with sandy beaches and cristal clear waters.
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Around Gallipoli:
Discover the coast road from Otranto to Santa Maria di Leuca passing nearby Castro, with natural marine reserves. The coast here is cliffy and unveils an unexpected wild landscape. From Santa Maria di Leuca to Gallipoli the coast is less abrupt and gives glimpses of superbs beaches as Torre San Giovanni at Marina di Ugento.
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Also known as Lucania, Basilicata is a land of contrasts, offering visitors lunar landscapes such as the site of Matera caves today classified World Heritage by UNESCO, the sandy beaches of the Ionian coast and the coves on the rugged coastline of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is also a region rich of archaeological remains and villages built on a mountainside in the Lucan Dolomites, rock churches and natural landscapes of rare beauty. Basilicata is a land of popular tradition that has preserved over times its entire heritage, such as the cuisine rich in flavor and simple.
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