Must see attractions in Puglia

  • Top Choice
    Castel del Monte

    You'll see Castel del Monte, an inhumanly exact geometric shape on a hilltop, from miles away. Mysterious and perfectly octagonal, it's one of southern…

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    Cathedral

    Mosaics, skulls, crypts and biblical-meets-tropical imagery: Otranto's cathedral is like no other in Italy. It was built by the Normans in the 11th…

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    Grotte di Castellana

    These spectacular limestone caves, 40km southeast of Bari, are Italy's longest natural subterranean network. The interlinked galleries, first discovered…

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    Basilica di San Nicola

    Bari's signature basilica was one of the first Norman churches to be built in southern Italy, and is a splendid (if square and solid) example of Pugliese…

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    Basilica di Santa Croce

    It seems that hallucinating stonemasons have been at work on the basilica. Sheep, dodos, cherubs and beasties writhe across the facade, a swirling…

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    Top Choice
    Museo Faggiano

    Descend through Lecce's rich historical strata in this fascinating home-turned-museum, where sewerage excavations led to the chance discovery of an…

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    Top Choice
    Museo Archeologico di Santa Scolastica

    Housed in a well-preserved 16th-century defensive bastion, this excellent museum reopened in late 2018 and features a superbly curated overview of the…

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    Top Choice
    Museo Nazionale Archeologico di Taranto

    Sitting unassumingly in a side street in Taranto's new town is one of Italy's most important archaeological museums, chiefly dedicated to the archaeology…

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    Top Choice
    Tempio di San Giovanni al Sepolcro

    This 12th-century church, a brown bulk of Norman stone conforming to the circular plan the Templars so loved, is a wonderfully evocative structure,…

  • Cathedral

    This dramatic seafront cathedral is dedicated to St Nicholas the Pilgrim, a Greek Christian who wandered through Puglia crying 'Kyrie eleison' ('Lord,…

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    Cathedral

    Giuseppe Zimbalo's 1659 reconstruction of Lecce's original 12th-century cathedral is recognised as being among his finest work. Zimbalo, Lecce's famous…

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    Grotta Zinzulusa

    An aperture on the Ionian coast below Castro leads into the magnificent stalactite-festooned Cave of Zinzulusa, one of the most significant coastal…

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    Museo Ebraico

    This fascinating museum outlines the Jewish history of Lecce and the greater Salento region. Entry is by 30-minute guided tour only, running every 45…

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    Museo del Succorpo della Cattedrale

    This subterranean museum beneath Bari cathedral reveals well-preserved remnants of an ancient Christian basilica and various Roman ruins. This fascinating…

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    Chiesa dei Santi Nicolò e Cataldo

    The beautiful church of Saints Nicolò and Cataldo, located in the monumental cemetery outside the city walls, was built by the Normans in 1180. It got…

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    MUST

    The beautifully restored 15th-century Monastery of Santa Chiara houses this civic museum and gallery, and has a great view of the Roman theatre from the…

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    Chiesa di Santa Chiara

    A notable 15th-century church given a baroque makeover between 1687 and 1691, Santa Chiara is one of the most important and admired churches in Lecce…

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    Cathedral

    The 11th-century cathedral is one of Puglia's oldest Romanesque buildings and an extravagant treat. It's dedicated to San Cataldo, an Irish monk who lived…

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    Parco Nazionale del Gargano

    One of Italy's largest national parks, a place of sweeping coast and deep, ancient forests, sits on the spur of southern Italy in Puglia, jutting out into…