Cucina Villana
Cucina Villana
restaurant
41.138626
16.486386
The Montaruli brothers' etnobotanica kitchen at Villa Fenicia, above Ruvo di Puglia on the edge of the Murgia.
https://www.villafenicia.com
Trattoria La Luna nel Pozzo
La Luna nel Pozzo
restaurant
40.532178
17.428753
Cucina povera in the ceramics town of Grottaglie — handmade pasta, and the wild greens the kitchen buys that morning.
Cave di Bauxite
Cave di Bauxite
site
40.132291
18.499792
A disused bauxite quarry south of Otranto: red earth around a green pool. Not a beach and not swimmable — go for the colour, early or late.
Acaya
Acaya
site
40.333524
18.295866
A fortified town laid out from nothing in 1535 on a grid, with its castle and walls — one of the few Renaissance planned towns in the south, and still tiny.
Fondazione Biscozzi | Rimbaud
Biscozzi | Rimbaud
site
40.356457
18.170180
A private collection of twentieth-century Italian art, opened to the public in a Lecce palazzo in 2021. Small, serious, and almost empty on a weekday.
https://www.fondazionebiscozzirimbaud.it/
Ceramiche Enza Fasano
Enza Fasano
shop
40.532846
17.431078
A ceramics workshop on Via Crispi in the Grottaglie kiln quarter — one of the houses that carried the town's craft into the present.
Fondazione Museo Pino Pascali
Museo Pino Pascali
site
40.994019
17.228686
Polignano's old slaughterhouse on the sea, now a contemporary art museum built around Pino Pascali, the Arte Povera sculptor who was born here.
https://www.museopinopascali.it/
Vincent City
Vincent City
site
40.393499
17.939531
A house-museum on the road outside Guagnano — twenty ceramic and mosaic works by Orodè Deoro, built as a monument to a local artist and to nothing else.
Torre Cintola — the Bini domes
The Bini Domes
site
40.915179
17.343763
Concrete domes on the Capitolo coast at Monopoli, raised with air in the 1970s by Dante Bini's Binishell method — a holiday village that looks like nothing else on this coast.
Concattedrale Gran Madre di Dio
Gio Ponti's Cathedral
site
40.461827
17.270381
Gio Ponti's concrete sail in Taranto, finished in 1970 — a pierced façade standing in water, meant to be read against the sky. Twenty minutes west of Grottaglie.
Già Sotto l'Arco
Già Sotto l'Arco
restaurant
40.706981
17.658881
A Michelin star on the first floor of a palazzo in Carovigno — Salento cooking, formal without being stiff. Book ahead.
https://www.giasottolarco.it/
Punta Ristola
Punta Ristola
beach
39.789594
18.345887
The southernmost point of the heel, west of Leuca — rock platforms, sea caves by boat, and the line where the two seas meet.
Il Ciolo
Il Ciolo
beach
39.844206
18.386058
A fjord-like cut under a road bridge near Gagliano del Capo. Deep water, no sand, and people jumping from the rocks.
Punta della Suina
Punta della Suina
beach
40.002770
18.013334
Rock shelves and small sand pockets in the pines south of Gallipoli, facing the sunset.
Lama Monachile
Lama Monachile
beach
40.993252
17.213855
The pebble inlet at the foot of Polignano's old town, under the Roman bridge. Best at eight in the morning.
Porto Ghiacciolo
Porto Ghiacciolo
beach
40.929671
17.331000
A small cove below the abbey of Santo Stefano, south of Monopoli: sand, rock ledges, deep water a few strokes out.
Lido Morelli
Lido Morelli
beach
40.810914
17.523349
Soft sand between Pilone and Torre Canne — the easiest swim on the Ostuni coast for a long afternoon.
Torre Pozzelle
Torre Pozzelle
beach
40.771534
17.662072
A string of small sand coves under a Saracen tower on the Ostuni coast, reached by a track through the scrub.
Burro Cafè
Burro Cafè
restaurant
40.732299
17.576537
A specialty coffee bar on Corso Mazzini in Ostuni — breakfast, pastries and an aperitivo hour.
https://www.instagram.com/burro_cafe/
Castro
Castro
site
40.0070220
18.4257330
A small town on the Adriatic cliffs above its harbour.
Marina Serra
Marina Serra
site
39.9130123
18.3921160
A natural pool in the rock below Tricase.
Porto Cesareo
Porto Cesareo
site
40.2628240
17.8984180
Shallow, very clear water and a marine reserve on the Ionian side.
Santa Maria al Bagno
Santa Maria al Bagno
site
40.1296826
17.9982173
A small resort on the Ionian below Nardo.
Porto Selvaggio
Porto Selvaggio
beach
40.1780399
17.9427063
Four hundred hectares of pine and rock between two watchtowers, with no road in — the pebble bay is a twenty-minute walk. Cold springs surface offshore and keep the water clear.
Grotta Zinzulusa
Zinzulusa
site
40.0119161
18.4312104
A sea cave below Castro, best reached from the water.
Torre Sant'Andrea
Torre Sant'Andrea
site
40.2552764
18.4450163
Faraglioni standing off the rocks south of Torre dell'Orso.
Torre dell'Orso
Torre dell'Orso
site
40.2745056
18.4301456
A long bay under a watchtower on the Adriatic coast.
Grotta della Poesia
Grotta della Poesia
beach
40.2857580
18.4297873
A collapsed limestone pool open to the sea at Roca Vecchia. Early morning, or not at all in August.
Porto Badisco
Porto Badisco
beach
40.0801185
18.4833742
A horseshoe cove south of Otranto where Virgil has Aeneas come ashore. Clear, deep, small.
Baia dei Turchi
Baia dei Turchi
beach
40.1951536
18.4629536
Pines running down to pale sand north of Otranto. The walk in from the car park keeps it calm; full in season.
Trattoria Iolanda
Iolanda
restaurant
39.9334674
18.3203645
The Iolanda family has been cooking in Lucugnano since 1970.
Taverna del Porto
Taverna del Porto
restaurant
39.9300874
18.3943400
On the quay at Tricase Porto, where the boats come in.
Piccola Osteria
Piccola Osteria
restaurant
40.3964109
18.0183291
Paolo Metrangolo's kitchen in Campi Salentina.
Le Stanzie
Le Stanzie
restaurant
40.0400229
18.2156317
A historic masseria with one fixed menu. Book well ahead.
https://www.lestanzie.com/
Ristorante La Vinaigrette
La Vinaigrette
restaurant
40.0532012
17.9771859
A terrace above the Ionian in Gallipoli.
https://lavinaigrette.it
Trattoria La Puritate
La Puritate
restaurant
40.0546937
17.9757850
Against the sea walls of Gallipoli.
Antica Trattoria Salandra
Salandra
restaurant
40.1795207
18.0310622
In an alley behind Piazza Salandra in Nardo.
Osteria da Angiulino
Da Angiulino
restaurant
40.3563085
18.1706510
Feeding Lecce since the 1970s.
Le Zie - Trattoria Casereccia
Le Zie
restaurant
40.3573150
18.1749670
You ring the bell to be let in, and eat what the family would eat.
Caffe Alvino
Alvino
restaurant
40.3528290
18.1731169
On Piazza Sant'Oronzo: rustico, pasticciotto, and caffe leccese with almond milk.
http://caffealvino.it/
Faro di Punta Palascia
Punta Palascia
site
40.1074454
18.5199872
The easternmost point of Italy, where the Adriatic meets the Ionian.
Teatro Paisiello
Teatro Paisiello
site
40.3555815
18.1687958
A pistachio-green nineteenth-century theatre in the centre of Lecce.
Basilica di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria
Santa Caterina
site
40.1728396
18.1722558
A plain facade over an interior frescoed from floor to vault, every surface painted.
https://www.basilicaorsiniana.it/
Santa Maria di Leuca
Leuca
site
39.7967494
18.3544897
The southern tip, where the two seas are said to meet.
Tricase
Tricase
site
39.9304200
18.3553320
A town inland and a small port below it, on the Adriatic side of the heel.
Galatina
Galatina
site
40.1742781
18.1678388
Where the tarantism tradition was kept alive, and where Santa Caterina is.
Nardo
Nardo
site
40.1762608
18.0306371
Baroque without the crowds of Lecce, twenty minutes from the Ionian coast.
Gallipoli
Gallipoli
site
40.0546937
17.9757850
The old town sits on an island off the Ionian shore, joined to the new one by a bridge.
Otranto
Otranto
site
40.1456661
18.4907570
The Aragonese castle above the harbour, and a twelfth-century mosaic covering the whole floor of the cathedral.
Lecce
Lecce
site
40.3529000
18.1720000
Over forty baroque churches in soft golden stone, and a Roman amphitheatre in the main square.
Scavi di Egnazia
Egnazia
site
40.8858560
17.3873640
A Messapian and Roman town excavated on the coast, with the Via Traiana running through it.
Masseria Torre Coccaro
Torre Coccaro
restaurant
40.8730304
17.4089613
Aperitivo in the courtyard of the masseria, with the Tulsi shop next door.
Sonmarco
Sonmarco
shop
40.7071852
17.6568480
Marco Lanzilotti's enoteca and organic greengrocer in Carovigno.
Dentromare
Dentromare
restaurant
40.7447292
17.7337839
Tables on the sand at Specchiolla.
Il Panino di Marino
Panino di Marino
shop
40.7933540
17.1234250
Marino makes the sandwiches, and Marino is half the reason to come.
Cibus
Cibus
restaurant
40.6463723
17.5184243
In a fifteenth-century convent in Ceglie Messapica.
http://www.ristorantecibus.it/
Osteria da Giuseppe
Da Giuseppe
restaurant
40.6468273
17.5152608
The menu changes every day.
Ristorante Garibaldi
Garibaldi
restaurant
40.7056224
17.3362575
On Piazza Plebiscito, facing the cathedral of Martina Franca.
Trattoria delle Ruote
Delle Ruote
restaurant
40.6892120
17.3848280
Third generation, with the Valle d'Itria spread out below the terrace.
Trattoria Bere Vecchie
Bere Vecchie
restaurant
40.7416562
17.4262465
A butcher's counter with tables, and the bombette Cisternino is known for.
Pizzeria Casa Pinto
Casa Pinto
restaurant
40.7524030
17.3291240
A wood oven in the centre of Locorotondo.
Trattoria Terra Madre
Terra Madre
restaurant
40.7872754
17.2351608
Inside a group of trulli, with its own vegetable garden supplying the kitchen.
https://www.trattoriaterramadre.it/
Il Principe del Mare
Principe del Mare
restaurant
40.8537480
17.4459810
At the waterline in Savelletri. Raw, and fried.
Panificio L'Assunta
L'Assunta
shop
40.8919500
17.3293480
Tavola calda to take away: focaccia, panzerotti, whatever is out of the oven.
La Locanda di Felisiano
Felisiano
restaurant
40.8904630
17.3572240
In the olive groves of Contrada Losciale, outside Monopoli.
My Wine - Il Piacere del Palato
My Wine
restaurant
40.9522369
17.2999480
A handful of tables, and Gianni, who chooses what you drink.
Il Super Mago del Gelo
Super Mago del Gelo
restaurant
40.9952740
17.2187020
Mario Campanella's bar on the piazza, and the only place that makes the caffe speciale.
Puro
Puro
restaurant
40.9961060
17.2171229
Sushi made with fish landed on this coast.
Pescaria
Pescaria
restaurant
40.9947341
17.2193738
The octopus sandwich that made the queue. Now a chain, but this is where it started.
https://www.pescaria.it/
L'Osteria di Chichibio
Chichibio
restaurant
40.9968986
17.2168714
Fish cooking at the harbour of Polignano.
Da Tuccino
Da Tuccino
restaurant
41.0027249
17.2024521
Raw shellfish and sea urchins on the rocks south of Polignano, since 1968.
Pinto Carlo
Pinto Carlo
restaurant
40.8867829
17.1660825
A butcher's shop with a grill at the back. Pick the meat at the counter, eat it at the table.
Osteria del Caroseno
Caroseno
restaurant
40.8831194
17.1660656
A family-run osteria with a few rooms above it.
https://www.osteriadelcarosenobeb.com/
Antiche Botteghe
Antiche Botteghe
restaurant
40.8492021
17.1226371
A kitchen in the old centre of Putignano.
AlbaChiara
AlbaChiara
restaurant
40.8388725
17.4654977
On the water at Torre Canne, built around raw fish.
Silve
Silve
restaurant
40.8350579
17.3569097
One menu for everyone, the chef's mother in the kitchen.
Caseificio Crovace
Crovace
shop
40.7913913
17.4598637
An unremarkable shopfront in Speziale selling cheese and salumi that are anything but.
Il Cortiletto
Il Cortiletto
restaurant
40.7915926
17.4600058
An antipasto della casa that runs to eighteen courses before the pasta arrives.
Masseria Moroseta
Moroseta
restaurant
40.7276310
17.5764060
Giorgia Eugenia Goggi cooks in the whitewashed masseria above Ostuni; the table is open to non-residents.
Osteria del Tempo Perso
Tempo Perso
restaurant
40.7346854
17.5791920
Dinner in a cave cut into the rock behind the cathedral of Ostuni.
Port'Alga
Port'Alga
site
40.9944463
17.2224879
A small cove outside Polignano, quieter than the beach in town.
Torre Guaceto
Torre Guaceto
beach
40.7057288
17.7830263
A protected marine reserve north of Ostuni: dunes, a watchtower, and a coastline kept free of building.
https://www.riservaditorreguaceto.it/
Peppino Campanella
Peppino Campanella
site
40.9962280
17.2166710
Light works installed in a private house. Access has to be arranged in advance.
Abbazia di San Vito
Abbazia San Vito
site
41.0133187
17.1921959
A tenth-century abbey standing at the water's edge with fishing boats pulled up beneath it.
Conversano
Conversano
site
40.9685142
17.1150442
A castle, a cathedral, and the birthplace of spumone, the layered ice cream the rest of Italy borrowed.
Monopoli
Monopoli
site
40.9522369
17.2999480
A working harbour with fishing boats still tied up under the old walls, and less traffic than Polignano twenty minutes north.
Polignano a Mare
Polignano a Mare
site
40.9944463
17.2224879
Limestone cliffs cut by a cove beach in the middle of town. The most photographed place in the region, and it knows it.
Fasano
Fasano
site
40.8344320
17.3583990
The town the coast road passes on its way inland, with the Selva above it and the masserie spread out below.
Ceglie Messapica
Ceglie Messapica
site
40.6460444
17.5170566
A hill town the region eats in rather than photographs.
Martina Franca
Martina Franca
site
40.7042378
17.3399908
Baroque facades in soft tufa, and a summer opera festival in the courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale.
Cisternino
Cisternino
site
40.7429852
17.4257450
The highest density of butchers in the valley. You choose the meat at the counter and it comes back grilled at your table.
Locorotondo
Locorotondo
site
40.7552300
17.3265000
A round town on a low hill, whitewashed and gabled rather than domed, looking out over the Valle d'Itria.
Alberobello
Alberobello
site
40.7841242
17.2377031
Fifteen hundred trulli under conical stone roofs, UNESCO-listed and busy from mid-morning onwards. Come at first light or not at all.
Ostuni
Ostuni
site
40.7276310
17.5764060
The white town, lime-washed and stacked on a hill above the olive plain, with the Adriatic eight kilometres downhill. Crowded at the height of summer.
