From luxury ‘masseria‘ farmhouse stays to olive-infused cooking classes (and spa treatments), here are 10 of the best things to do in Puglia, Italy. The southern region is a slow food and travel haven. Savor the flavors in the wait for the vaccine to get a grip on our travel freedoms. While travel to parts of Italy is already possible for some travelers, be sure to check the latest updates on the government website.
1. LEARN TO COOK UP PUGLIA FLAVORS
“Signora, eccola! The parmigiana di melanzane you prepared this morning,” says the Italian waiter. This while presenting me with a white baking dish of a still bubbling, Vesuvius like concoction. The darkened eggplant erupting through lava red sauce and golden crust is one of Puglia’s most famous dishes.
I think my great contribution was simply looking on as the hotel chef, Donato Vannella, whipped it up with the ease of riding through the Puglia olive groves on a Vespa. A pleasure you can repeat while attending a morning cooking class at the Masseria Torre Coccaro.
Once a fortified defence tower, now luxury hideout – the class is held in one of several vaulted cellars with a handful of participants.
2. STAY AT A LUXURY MASSERIA FARMHOUSE
Set in a vast estate overlooking the Adriatic Sea, the bastion was once used to stave off invading Saracens. Today it’s rural bliss personified. A chalky white walled farmhouse with warm country decor, set amid fields of almond and carob trees.
The views over the property in the morning are startling: blue skies, blinding white walls. This could be Greece. Stairs and walking paths wind their way through the buildings and up to various lookouts.
From my quarters, I stumble straight into the woods. The villa has a private garden, pool and gazebo, swept in by old farm walls. The lodgings are earthy, with warm country decor, stone floors, hearths. (See details here of current measures being taken for your “safety and serenity.” Free cancellation is also offered).
3. IMMERSE IN PUGLIA’S SCENERY
Puglia is a crossroads, says owner Vittorio Muolo. “You have the typical trulli (conical roofed dry stone huts) of Saracen origin, the Baroque beauty of Lecce, built by the Spaniards, white towns that evoke Greece, and 13th century castles built by German Emperor Frederick II.”
4. HEAD TO THE BEACH
After learning to make a trio of dishes in the cooking class, I then get to eat them – by the sea – at the Coccaro Beach Club.
Here I am presented with “my taralli“– a basket full of golden, pig-tail curled aperitif biscuits. The smell of the still warm, olive oiled dough mixes in a heady fashion with the restorative salt air and sea breeze of Puglia.
At this point, I do something which would be impossible in today’s climate: I offer the taralli round to my fellow diners. (There are many grateful takers). These are incredibly tricky to master. Yet no packet variety will ever match homemade taralli, which you can flavor with fennel or aniseed, garlic or rosemary, as you please.
5. WALLOW IN PUGLIA’S FLAVORS
Local foods–farm deli meats and cheese–will, by the way, creep onto your plate from breakfast time at Apulia’s masseria.
“Agricultural Products are importantissimi!” exclaims Vittorio Muolo. “From local fishermen we source scampi, mussels, yellowfin tuna, snapper, monkfish and turbot. From local farms, the best lamb and Podolico beef, free range chicken, and Apulian cheeses such as Burrata (fresh cow’s milk cheese) and Canestrato (a hard cheese made from a mix of sheep and goat’s milk).
“We have a network of people who search for wild seasonal harvest, from porcini and Cardoncelli mushrooms to asparagus and snails, to sivoni (a herbaceous plant), myrtle leaves and berries.”
A lot of the produce too comes straight from the garden, established in the 17th century by Benedictine monks. Expect to be handed Muolo’s “Lexicon Of Taste” soon after arriving.
Puglia is not necessarily a vegetarian heaven. “The Pugliesi throw out nothing from butchered meats,” I read. “Leading to recipes such as baked lamb’s head with breadcrumbs and pecorino. Certainly intense tastes for strong palates, like those of the shepherds.”
6. RIDE A BIKE: FOOD TRAVEL ITALY
Without a doubt, one of the major thrills of my trip is heading off by bike along the coast. Soon I found myself belting through olive groves, gaily and spontaneously, along off-road rural paths.
Other than adding several invaluable dishes to my Italian cooking repertoire–which I constantly revisit–the memories that linger are those of Apulia’s rural landscapes.
SLOW FOOD TRAVEL ITALY
7. GO TO MARKET
Nearby marketplaces too brim with local savors – though thankfully not with lamb’s heads. Two other famous Apulian delights are Orecchiette – “Small Ear” pasta; and onion-filled Calzone di Cipolla.
The masseria maps out over a dozen food and wine itineraries in the area. These take in farmhouse gastronomy and olive oil museums. You can buy beautiful olive-based toiletries at the Masseria Maccarone, which also leases rural apartments. The fortified estate boasts 20,000 olive trees. Within its walls are a 1500s shepherd’s house, 1600s farmhouse and 1754 manor house.
8. GET PAMPERED WITH OLIVES
Here’s another sure way of chilling, and immersing in Puglia’s olive culture. Head to the masseria’s Ayurveda Spa for some detox “olive therapy.” Prepare to be basted all over with olive paste, made from crushed fruit, leaves and extra virgin oil.
If all this sounds too over-the-top olive, alternatively opt for a spot of yoga or tai chi or a steam bath. But the olives will rejuvenate you, and are powerfully antioxidant, says Katja Brinkmann, Muolo’s vivacious German wife. “Right beside the herbal garden we’re doing daily yoga classes. While you’re enjoying your Asanas you can watch the birds, the lizards, the bees passing by!
“In our spa, we even use olive mousse as a nourishing natural body mask. Or the oil as massage oil … There’s a special feel about those treatments, since the ingredients come directly from the garden, without any preservatives or other additives.
“Puglia is pure olive country,” she enthuses. “Our olive oil is among the best in the world. All around the masseria we’ve got thousands of ancient olive trees, some more than a thousand years old. You kind of feel the history; generations of farmers cultivating the trees for centuries. And it’s Puglia’s gold this olive oil.”
9. VISIT LECCE
Lecce is a bit far away by bike, but don’t miss a trip to the beautifully Baroque-endowed “Florence of the South.” It lies about an hour to the south, right down on the heel of Italy’s boot. The centro storico is jam-packed with treasures, from the basilica to the duomo and the lively plaza the duomo sits on. (Which just happens to be called Piazza del Duomo). There’s also an impressive Hadrian-era (that’s 2 AD) amphitheatre right in the middle of town, uncovered in the early 1900s. Finally, explore the web of narrow streets, and enjoy the shops.
10. CHILL UNDER THE MOONLIGHT
Back at the masseria, just chill. The dinner ambience outdoors under the moonlight (and bougainvillea-covered pergola), is magical. When the whole estate lights up by lantern at night, it’s like being on your own private Greek island.
I have never thought of Puglia as a travel destination, but I am now. Once the pandemic is over, what a place to experience. Love the red tomatoes drying on the white walls.
It’s beautiful. History, food, culture, like so much of Italy! I didn’t see enough of the end of the boot due to lack of transport, but the trip was great!