Ontdek Puglia & Basilicata: puur, charmant en zonnig

About the destination: Despite the fact Bari is quite a large modern city it has managed to keep the unique atmosphere of small towns. In this city ancient buildings and strict gothic castles border with new trading centres and restaurants, making Bari even more attractive and elegant. Walk along the narrow streets of the city centre to reach the Cathedral of Bari. Built in the 12th century, its crypt is a triumph of Baroque art. In this labyrinthine streets, another fine example of Baroque architecture stands, the beautiful church San Nicola, built a thousand years ago. Castello Normanno Svevo, which was built in 1132, is one of the most notable sights of the city. The Museum of Archaeology is another place of interest in Bari as excavations in the old part of the city haven’t stopped even now, so the museum constantly gets new exhibits. If daytime is traditionally used for unhurried walks on shady valleys, night turns Bari into one noisy discotheque. Trendy bars, pubs, and clubs are ready to entertain their visitors till dawn.

About the destination: Matera is the capital of the Matera province in the Basilicata region of Italy. It boasts the sassi, well-preserved rock-cut settlements that are a World Heritage site and one of Southern Italy's many important attractions. The town center, the oldest part of town, was built on the edge of a bare plateau where a high rocky mount looms over the spot where a valley descends to the long deep river-ravine. This is where you'll now find the town cathedral and the fairly typical Italian town center. The town's main historical museum, the Museo Nazionale Ridola, contains exhibits from distant eras of Basilicata's past, from prehistory to the Roman age (closed Monday mornings; a small entrance charge). Nearby, Palazzo Lanfranchi houses the Museo Nazionale d'Arte Medievale e Moderna della Regione Basilicata - an art museum incorporating the Pinacoteca D'Errico, which has lots of religious paintings by southern painters and, more interestingly, the Centro Carlo Levi, which contains a range of paintings by the twentieth-century artist and writer who is a part of this region's modern history.

About the destination: Pulsano is a town and commune in the province of Tarento, Puglia, with 10,867 inhabitants.

About the destination: Manduria is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Taranto. With c. 32,000 inhabitants (2013), it is located 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of Taranto. It was an important stronghold of the Messapii against Taras. Archidamus III, king of Sparta, fell beneath its walls in 338 BC, while leading the army of the latter (Manduria is also referred to as "Mandonion" in works by the Greek and Roman historian Plutarch). Manduria revolted against Hannibal, but was taken in 209 BC.

About the destination: Lecce is a historic city in Apulia region of Italy, and the capital of the province of Lecce. Because of the rich Baroque architectural monuments found in the city, Lecce is commonly nicknamed "The Florence of the South". Lecce has a lovely historic center (centro storico), and travellers can easily spend many hours exploring picturesque little lanes and finding the more far-flung Baroque churches. The town's great artistic treasure is its architecture; in terms of other arts, such as painting, Lecce cannot really compare with northerly towns like Florence and Rome. The town has two main focal points: Piazza Sant'Oronzo and Piazza del Duomo. Piazza Sant'Oronzo is the big civic heart of the town, a large square with a slightly different atmosphere, the ancient and the modern sitting uncomfortably together. Piazza del Duomo is an unusual interpretation of a familiar Italian cathedral square. In Lecce the cathedral sits in one corner of a theatrical enclosed square; a still space in the heart of town.

About the destination: Cozy with the fields of olive trees, beautiful like no other part in the world, born of this red earth that perfumes and transforms the surrounding landscape in a succession of wonderful chromatic effects. It is the Valle d'Itria, known as Valle del Trulli, which extends through the provinces of Bari, Brindisi and Taranto and includes the municipalities of Alberobello, Carovigno, Castellana Grotte, Ceglie Messapica, Cisternino, Fasano, Locorotondo, Martina Franca, Noci, Ostuni, Putignano, San Michele Salentino, San Vito dei Normanni and Villa Castelli. It will be the white color of their houses or the vegetation that surrounds them, the fact is that each town, each village of the valley is impregnated with a magical atmosphere, almost fable. In the heart of the Itria Valley, a must-see is Alberobello, included in Unesco's World Heritage List as a World Heritage Site in 1996. It is impossible not to be fascinated by the alleys of the neighborhoods of Monti and Aja Piccola. But it is not just about Alberobello. The landscape of the whole area is planted with these typical constructions: just think of Cisternino that emerges in the so-called Murgia dei Trulli, included along with Locorotondo among the most beautiful villages in Italy. This last one, called until the end of the 19th century "Luogorotondo" for its characteristic round shape of the inhabited center, forms part of the Terra dei Trulli. Not to be missed in any way a "Journey to the center of the earth", to the caves of Castellana (in the municipality of Castellna Grutte): the Grave, the first and largest cavern and the only connected with the outside; And the White Grotto, which will leave your visitors speechless.

About the destination: Despite the fact Bari is quite a large modern city it has managed to keep the unique atmosphere of small towns. In this city ancient buildings and strict gothic castles border with new trading centres and restaurants, making Bari even more attractive and elegant. Walk along the narrow streets of the city centre to reach the Cathedral of Bari. Built in the 12th century, its crypt is a triumph of Baroque art. In this labyrinthine streets, another fine example of Baroque architecture stands, the beautiful church San Nicola, built a thousand years ago. Castello Normanno Svevo, which was built in 1132, is one of the most notable sights of the city. The Museum of Archaeology is another place of interest in Bari as excavations in the old part of the city haven’t stopped even now, so the museum constantly gets new exhibits. If daytime is traditionally used for unhurried walks on shady valleys, night turns Bari into one noisy discotheque. Trendy bars, pubs, and clubs are ready to entertain their visitors till dawn.