Brindisi
The gleaming white column above a sweeping set of sun-whitened stairs leading to the waterfront promenade marks the terminus of the Roman Via Appia at…
Must-see attractions in Puglia
Vieste
Built by the Normans on the ruins of a Vesta temple, this 11th-century 'co-cathedral' (so called because its bishopric is shared with another) is in…
Alberobello
On the eastern side of Via Indipendenza is Rione Aia Piccola. This neighbourhood is much less commercialised than Rione Monti, with 400 trulli, many still…
Lecce
Known by the locals as Santa Maria della Luce, this graceful little church bears the fingerprints of Giuseppe Zimbalo, as much of baroque Lecce does. The…
Lecce
Also known as the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista (Church of John the Baptist), this elaborately fronted church was prodigious Leccese architect Giuseppe…
Alberobello
Within the old town quarter of Rione Monti more than 1000 trulli cascade down the hillside, many of which are now souvenir shops. The area is surprisingly…
Gallipoli
On the island, Gallipoli's 17th-century cathedral is a baroque beauty that could compete with anything in Lecce. Not surprisingly, Giuseppe Zimbalo, who…
Peschici
Peschici's medieval hilltop castle stands sentinel over the town's port, and inside there is a fascinating Museum of Torture with life-sized replicas of…
Otranto
The origins of this cross-shaped Byzantine church are uncertain, but some think they may be as remote as the 5th century. The present structure seems to…
Gallipoli
This is only one of some 35 olive presses buried in the tufa rock below the town. It was here, between the 16th and early 19th centuries, that local…
Lecce
Dedicated to Lecce's former patron saint and modelled on Rome's Basilica di Sant'Andrea della Valle, this church was completed in 1639. Inside you'll find…
Promontorio del Gargano
Dating to the last (Augustan) days of the Roman Republic, Lucera's amphitheatre was built for gladiatorial combat and accommodated up to 18,000 people…
Puglia
The third of the Isole Tremiti, Capraia (named after the wild caper plant) is uninhabited. Birdlife is plentiful, with impressive flocks of seagulls…
Bari
Check out this repurposed heritage building for an ever-changing series of interesting and innovative cultural and art displays, part of the nexus of…
Museo Speleologico Franco Anelli
Valle d’Itria
This cave museum connected to the famous Grotte di Castellana exhibits geological specimens and delves deeply into the speleological world. It's named for…
Puglia
Housed in the neoclassical Palazzo Jatta in Ruvo, some 30km from Bari, this museum displays a collection of several hundred archaeological finds, mainly…
Lecce
Facing Lecce's cathedral is the arched arcade loggia of the 15th-century Palazzo Vescovile, one-time residence of Neapolitan royalty and one of Lecce's…
Bari
Roger the Norman originally built this castle in the 12th century over the ruins of a Byzantine structure. Later, Frederick II of Swabia built over the…
Bari
This beautiful piazza is fronted by the Sedile, the headquarters of Bari's Council of Nobles. In the square's northeast corner is the Colonna della…
Brindisi
This 16th-century Renaissance-style palace is named for the two different families who owned it. The building is of interest because it houses the huge…
Martina Franca
Built over an existing castle in 1668, this imposing baroque palace has had a multitude of functions over the years, and is now the office of the civic…
Brindisi
After the Romans, the next big event to hit Brindisi was the Crusades during the 12th and 13th centuries. The Porta dei Cavalieri Templari, an exotic…
Promontorio del Gargano
There is a small centro visitatori (visitors centre) in the middle of Foresta Umbra that houses a museum and nature centre with fossils, photographs, and…
Lecce
Two Roman columns once marked the end of the Appian Way in Brindisi. When one of them crumbled in 1582 some of the pieces were rescued and subsequently…
Brindisi
This 12th-century cathedral was substantially remodelled after an earthquake in 1743. You can see how the original Romanesque structure may have looked by…
Lecce
This 18th-century seminary, designed by famous Leccese architect and sculptor Giuseppe Cino, today houses a library of old books and a museum dedicated to…
Lecce
The main city gate, Porta Napoli, was erected in 1548 in anticipation of a state visit from Charles V. It's a typically bombastic effort by Gian dell…
Promontorio del Gargano
At the highest point of Monte Sant'Angelo is this rugged fastness, first built by Orso I, who later became Doge of Venice, in the 9th century. One 10th…
Parco Archeologico e Naturale di Arignano
Ostuni
Many of the finds at Ostuni's Museo di Civiltà Preclassiche della Murgia come from this cave and Palaeolithic burial ground, which doesn't offer much in…
Ostuni
Dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Ostuni's dramatic 15th-century cathedral has an unusual Gothic-Romanesque-Byzantine facade with a frilly…
Lecce
Exhibiting artefacts revealed during the excavation of the adjacent Roman theatre, this museum also has displays recreating classical Roman life,…
Taranto
This 6th-century BC Doric temple is one of the few visible remains of the once-great Greek colony of Taras. The last two surviving columns and the…
Promontorio del Gargano
On the former site of Lucera’s Great Mosque (itself built by the Saracens over an existing church as a symbol of conquest) Puglia’s only Gothic cathedral…
Vieste
This palaeo-Christian graveyard dating from the 4th to 6th centuries AD is 9km out of town. Inside the cave, tier upon tier of narrow tombs are cut into…
Osservatorio Astronomico Sirio
Valle d’Itria
This observatory, connected to the Grotte di Castellana, has telescopes and solar filters that allow for maximum solar-system visibility. Guided visits in…
Promontorio del Gargano
Frederick II’s enormous castle shows just what a big fish Lucera once was in the Puglian pond. Built in 1233, it’s set on a rocky hillock surrounded by a…
Gallipoli
Founded in 1878, this dusty museum of history and natural history is a 19th-century time capsule, featuring fish heads, ancient sculptures, a 3rd-century…
Promontorio del Gargano
Dominated by a huge rose window, the Gothic Chiesa di San Francesco, contemporaneous with Lucera's cathedral, incorporates recycled materials from Lucera…
Taranto
The gigantic rust-red 1930s Palazzo del Governo, inaugurated by Mussolini, is a forbidding and masculine structure, expressive of the fascist ideas of…
Bari
Exhibits artefacts from the adjacent Basilica di San Nicola, including chalices, vestments, parchments, relics and paintings.
