Puglia, Basilicata & Calabria - Lonely Planet

© Lonely Planet
695
Puglia, Basilicata
& Calabria
Italy’s south is out on a limb; this is the heel of Italy, a hotter, edgier place than the urbane,
sophisticated and, dare we suggest, mildly smug north. But the traditional north–south
divide is starting to blur. Tuscany in the ’80s, Umbria in the ’90s…many of today’s trendspotters
feel the south and, in particular, Puglia, is the new darling of travellers in the know
and holiday-home Brits.
This is not yet another dolce vita region that can be glibly described with a few apt
superlatives. There are plenty of reminders of unrelenting poverty and plenty to regret –
such as the stark urban sprawl of Brindisi and the industrial development around
Potenza and Taranto.
The flip side is a rich and varied portfolio of plains in the south, mountains in the north
and a dramatic and varied coastline. The people are similarly diverse, although share a fierce
local pride, reflecting Greek, Spanish and Turkish influences in their culture and cuisine.
Basilicata is a crush of mountains and rolling hills with a dazzling stretch of coastline.
Calabria is Italy’s wildest area with fine beaches, subtropical vegetation and a mountainous
landscape with peaks frequently crowned by ruined castles. Puglia’s charms include 800km
of coastline beneath limestone cliffs, interspersed with thick forests and olive groves.
This is an area that still feels like it has secret places to explore, although you will need your
own wheels (and some Italian) if you plan to seriously sidestep from the beaten track.
HIGHLIGHTS
Dip into the Disney-style scenario of the gnome-size
trulli dwellings in Alberobello ( p713 ), Puglia
Wonder at ornate baroque facades in Lecce ( p721 )
Immerse yourself in nature exploring the verdant
Promontorio del Gargano ( p696 )
Discover one of Calabria’s most characterful old
centres in seaside Tropea ( p754 )
Vanish into the vast hills of La Sila ( p748 ) in Calabria,
and the Parco Nazionale del Pollino in both
Basilicata ( p741 ) and Calabria ( p743 )
Drive or trek into the wilds of mysterious
Aspromonte ( p750 )
Explore the otherworldly sassi (former cave
dwellings) of Matera ( p733 ) in Basilicata
POPULATION: PUGLIA 4.07 MILLION;
BASILICATA 596,500; CALABRIA 2.01 MILLION
Tropea
Promontorio
del Gargano
Matera
Aspromonte
Parco Nazionale
del Pollino
La Sila
Alberobello
Lecce
AREA : PUGLIA 19,348 SQ KM; BASILICATA
9992 SQ KM; CALABRIA 15,080 SQ KM
PUGLIA, BASILICATA
& CALABRIA

PUGLIA, BASILICATA
& CALABRIA
696 PUGLIA •• Promontorio del Gargano
PUGLIA
Puglia is sun-bleached landscapes, seascapes
and silver olive groves; hilltop and coastal
towns; factories and power stations; tarantella
(mesmerising local folk music); fields
stippled with a dazzle of spring flowers;
cigarette-and-people-smuggling; elderly men
on benches; elderly women mopping their
front step; plenty of bicycles; summer carnivals;
immigrants arriving by boat; and dialects
that change from town to town.
Italy’s heel has the country’s longest coastline.
Two seas meet here: the Adriatic to the
east and the Ionian to the south. It’s legendary
for its food, in a land where the cuisine is allimportant:
olive oil, grapes tomatoes, aubergines,
artichokes, peppers, salami, fungi, olives
and fresh seafood strain its table. The region
looks out to sea and bears the marks of many
invading overseas visitors: the Normans,
the Spanish, the Turks, the Swabians and
the Greeks. Puglia feels authentic – in some
places it’s rare to hear a foreign voice. In July
and August it becomes a huge party, with
thousands of Italian tourists heading down
here for their annual break.
They’re here to bask on some of Italy’s
loveliest coastline, from the dramatic
Promontorio del Gargano to the whitesand
beaches of the Penisola Salentina.
Geologically speaking the region resembles
Croatia – the land mass to which it was once
joined – rather than the rest of Italy. The
coast alternates between glittering limestone
precipices and long beaches edged by waters
veering between emerald-green and dusky
powder blue.
There are festivals here throughout the
year, but fabulous events, concerts (often
tarantella), and sagre (festivals, usually involving
food) take place virtually every
night in July and August. Check the www
.quisalento.it website for a schedule.
History
At times Puglia feels Greek – and for good
reason. This tangible legacy dates from when
the Greeks founded a string of settlements
along the Ionian coast in the 8th century
BC. A form of Greek dialect (Griko) is still
spoken in some towns southeast of Lecce.
Historically, their major city was Taras
(Taranto), settled by Spartan exiles who
lonelyplanet.com
dominated until they were defeated by the
Romans in 272 BC.
The long coastline made the region vulnerable
to conquest. The Normans left their fine
Romanesque churches, the Swabians their
fortifications, and the Spanish their flamboyant
baroque buildings. No one, however,
knows exactly the origins of the extraordinary
16th-century, conical-roofed stone houses,
the trulli, unique to Puglia.
Apart from invaders and pirates, malaria
was long the greatest scourge of the south,
forcing many towns to build away from the
coast and into the hills. After Mussolini’s seizure
of power in 1922 following WWI, the
south became the frontline in his ‘Battle for
Wheat’. This initiative was aimed at making
Italy self-sufficient when it came to food, following
the sanctions imposed on the country
after its conquest of Ethiopia – Puglia is
now covered in wheat fields, olive groves and
fruit arbours.
PROMONTORIO DEL GARGANO
The coast surrounding the promontory seems
permanently bathed in a pink-hued, pearly
light, providing a painterly contrast to the
sea which softens from intense to powder
blue as the evening draws in. It’s one of Italy’s
most beautiful areas, encompassing white
limestone cliffs, fairy-tale grottoes, sparkling
sea, ancient forests, and tangled, fragrant
maquis. Once connected to what is now
Dalmatia, the ‘spur’ of the Italian boot has
more in common with the land mass across
the sea than with the rest of Italy. Creeping
urbanisation was halted in 1991 by the creation
of the Parco Nazionale del Gargano . Aside
from its magnificent display of flora and
the primeval forests of Quarto, Spigno and
Umbra, the park takes in miracle town San
Giovanni Rotonda (see p703 ) and the historic
pilgrimage destination of Monte Sant’Angelo.
OUR TOP FIVE CENTRO STORICOS
(HISTORIC CENTRES) IN PUGLIA
Locorotondo ( p714 )
Martina Franca ( p715 )
Ostuni ( p717 )
Vieste ( p701 )
Lecce ( p721 )