Italy for those who have already been — and want to discover what they missed
There is a corner of Italy I was slow to show my clients. Not because it is hidden, but because it is the kind of place that only makes sense to those who understand it. That is Puglia: the heel of the boot, where time moves more slowly and luxury means never being in a hurry.
I traveled through many regions of Italy before falling in love with this one. And when I say Puglia won me over, it is because it offers something rare: authenticity without effort. It is not a region that dresses itself up for the tourist. It simply is. And that is precisely why it works so well for those who have already seen the obvious and want something more genuine.
Alberobello and the trulli
The first time you see the trulli — those little white houses with conical stone roofs — it feels like a scene from a fairy tale. Alberobello is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and sleeping in a restored trullo, with walls half a meter thick that keep it cool even at the height of summer, is one of those experiences that stay with you. I take my clients to the trulli that have become private suites, far from the tour buses.
Matera and the stones that span millennia
Technically, Matera lies in Basilicata, just next door, and I never plan a Puglia itinerary without including it. The Sassi, the districts of houses carved into the rock, are one of the oldest human settlements in the world, inhabited for more than nine thousand years. Walking through Matera at dusk, when the stone turns golden, is one of the most beautiful things Italy has to offer. I lodge my clients in a cave hotel above the ravine, with absolute silence and a view you never forget.
Bari, Otranto and the sea of two blues
Bari surprises you: the old town, Bari Vecchia, has women making orecchiette in their doorways as though time had stood still, and some of the finest raw fish on the Adriatic. Farther south, Otranto, the easternmost point of Italy, has a sea that shifts in blue with the hour of the day, a cathedral with a twelfth-century mosaic floor, and city walls that hold tales of pirates. This is the Puglia almost no one puts on the itinerary — and it always becomes the favorite part of the trip.
The masserie — sleeping on a farm from another century
If there is one thing that defines a stay in Puglia, it is the masserie: old fortified farmhouses set among centuries-old olive trees, many converted into hotels of the very highest standard without losing their soul. A pool amid the olive groves, olive oil pressed on site, dinner under the stars with produce from the land itself. It is the kind of place where I arrive, take a deep breath, and remember why I do what I do. The best masserie do not appear on the usual platforms. You reach them by recommendation. And that is exactly what Grossi offers.
Puglia is not a place to visit in a hurry.
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