 Puglia
is the long strip of land, 400km from north to south,
that makes up the "heel" of Italy. It was for centuries
a strategic province, colonized, invaded and conquered
(like its neighbors, Calabria and Sicily) by just about
every major power of the day, from the Greeks through to
the Spanish. As elsewhere in the South, each ruling
dynasty left its own distinctive mark on the landscape
and architecture - as seen, for example, in the
surviving traces of Roman agricultural schemes and the
fortified medieval towns. There's no escaping some of
the historical influences in Puglia. Perhaps most
distinctive are the Saracenic kasbah-like quarters of
many towns and cities, the one at Bari being the biggest
and most atmospheric.
The Normans endowed Puglia with splendidly ornate
cathedrals; there's one at Trani which skillfully blends
many strands of regional craft traditions from north and
south. And the Baroque exuberance of towns like Lecce
and Martina Franca are testament to the Spanish legacy.
But if there's one symbol of Puglia that stands out,
it's the imposing castles built by the Swabian Frederick
II, all over the province - foremost of which are the
Castel del Monte and the remnants of the palace at
Lucera.
Clean seas and reliable sunshine have made Puglia a
popular spot for holidays, with acres of
campsite-and-bungalow type tourist villages - as well as
a large number of flashy four-star hotels - principally
serving tourists from Italy and Germany. The cities,
however, including Bari, have little that's
characteristic enough to warrant long stays: Táranto and
its surroundings have fought a losing battle with the
local steel industry, while Bríndisi is known and
visited only for its ferry connections with Greece; even
Lecce has little to hold you once you've trekked your
way along modern boulevards to see the crazed
confectionery of its Baroque churches. Nevertheless,
there's a geographical diversity to Puglia that can be
very attractive, though to get to the best of the
province you either need your own transport or the
patience to use the often erratic local buses. The very
southern tip, the Salentine peninsula , is rocky and
dry, more Greek than Italian, while there's plenty of
barren mountain scenery in the undulating plateau of Le
Murge , in the centre of the province. The best escape,
though, is north to the mountains, forests and beaches
of the Gargano promontory with some of the finest
unpolluted sand and sea to be found anywhere on the
Adriatic.
Getting around Puglia by public transport is fairly
easy, at least as far as the main towns and cities go.
FS trains connect nearly all the major places, while
small, private lines head into previously remote areas -
in the Gargano and on the edges of Le Murge. Most other
places can be reached by bus , though as ever services
are often infrequent or inconveniently early - a problem
that can only really be solved by taking, or renting,
your own car . Incidentally, if you're on your way to
Greece , it's worth noting that you don't have to leave
from Bríndisi: there are also departures from Bari and
from Otranto , south of Lecce.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT
www.italiamia.com
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