Red full-body wines and Baroque decoration - the Salento area - 3D/2N

Baroque in Melpignano - photo courtesy of Puglia Tourist BoardFrom Lecce to Santa Maria di Cerrate, an interesting medieval center recreating the economic life of ancient times, and the area of Salice Salentino with its historical wine cellars. Return to Lecce to visit the capital of baroque and be delighted by its elegance, rich decorum carved in the friable local stone, and by the fragrant pasticciotti with a creamy heart, and the pasta reale made with almonds. Then toward the Ionian coast visiting Leverano, Nardò and beautiful Gallipoli. Continue your circle toward the Adriatic coast via Galatina, with its splendidly frescoed 14th C. Franciscan church of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, Maglie and Otranto, one of the most enchanting places in Italy, with its historical center leaning out towards the harbor.

The towns of baroque - The baroque in Puglia deserves attention as it represents the most dramatic point of contact between faith and art and reaches its highest level in the architectural eccentricity of Lecce. Lecce is the triumph of baroque style carved stone, starting from the magnificent facades of its churches, monasteries, public buildings and private houses to the humblest of its balconies and portals. The baroque in Lecce and in all the other towns in the Province, such as the greek Galatina, Galatone, Nardò, Gallipoli and Alessano, is the elegy of the religious art in Salento and its great last expression. The steeples dominate over this scenery of widespread devotion, from the sail-like ones of the small churches to the distinguished spires of Lecce, Soleto, Sternatia, Maglie and Copertino.

Prehistorical Salento - The Salento link with prehistory are the splendid and fertile Veneri di Parabita (Parabita Venuses), the big mother figures with pronounced maternal attributes, carved in bone, dating back 15,000 years and currently preserved in Maglie’s Civic Museum and the Neolithic Grotta dei Cervi (Deer Cave) at Porto Badisco, one of the most impressive examples of rupestrian (rock) painting in Europe, with more than 3,000 pictograms in okra and bat’s guano, characterised by the intense movement in the narrative: dances, deer-hunting scenes, geometric and shaman figures. There are also Grotta Romanelli (Romanelli Cave), home of Palaeolithic Man with what must be the first Puglian graffiti revealing a mythology based on sexual symbolism, Grotta Zinzulusa, with its fantastic spectacle of stalactites and stalagmites and, further South at Capo di Leuca, the antelucan caves of Grotta Tre Porte, Grotta dell’Elefante and Grotta dei Giganti (The Giants’ Cave) and Grotta del Diavolo (Devil’s Cave) where pachydermic bones and teeth have been found along with hearthstones, utensils and pottery from the Neolithic period.

Tour Operation

View of Giovinazzo - photo courtesy of Puglia Tourist BoardTransportation:

  • Self Drive - For those wanting to explore this region at their own pace as it allows you to be mobile at all times, to stop whenever you want, to visit to your heart’s content. It is also the Best Value available as to cost

  • Chauffeur Driven - When only the best will suffice, an exclusive chauffeur-driven limousine will provide the ultimate in service and luxury. Our English-speaking experienced drivers still know what it means to give polite and reliable service, you will find them responsible, caring, discreet and completely dedicated to your enjoyment.

Accommodation: A great variety of properties are available, from quaint small hotels to deluxe accommodation including boutique properties and castles, to suit every taste and budget. Our experts will suggest the best properties for you in each region as required by your itinerary.

Visits: You will have the opportunity to visit local companies and producers where the most distinguished regional specialties are produced and see where the most famous grapes have been grown, with the opportunity to walk among the vineyards - local producers and wineries will be suggested depending on your itinerary

Restaurants: We have carefully selected regional restaurants where you will have the opportunity to experience and taste the very best of the cuisine specific to each region.

Possible Visits on the program: Vini Leone De Castris, Vini Conti Zecca, Vini Taurino, Vini Olio Duca Guarini, Vini Castel di Salve

Suggested Daily Itinerary by Area:

    Typical Pugliese food - photo </p> <p>courtesy of Puglia Tourist Board
  • Lecce and Salice Salentino DOC wine - Santa Maria di Cerrate is an interesting medieval productive center which recreates the economic life of ancient times. Here the abbey and the hypogeum press are still admired, while the Museum of Popular Traditions helps to complete our understanding of the ancient customs. We then continue towards the area of Salice Salentino DOC, where we will visit an historical wine cellar. We will lunch in Lecce, and in the afternoon enjoy visiting the capital of the baroque. We will not only be delighted by its elegance and rich decorum, carved in the friable local stone, but also by the delicious sweets, the fragrant pasticciotti with a creamy heart, and the pasta reale made with almonds. Our guided tour of the historical center will acquaint us with the Roman amphitheater, the impressive Santa Croce Basilica, the Cathedral and numerous churches displaying their rich detailed style. In the evening we will arrive at our hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.

  • Toward the Ionian coast - In the morning, we will visit the great production facility of Leverano, an important and highly rated wine cellar in Puglia. We will then drive to Nardò, where, in the central square of the village, the elegance of the baroque triumphs. In the afternoon, after lunch, we will visit the white and beautiful Gallipoli. Part of the town is located on a promontory and the rest is on a small island, surrounded by the waves of the Ionic Sea. We will walk along the town walls that surround a dense historical center. In the evening we will arrive at our hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.

  • Toward the Adriatic coast - Galatina is a highly recommended stop, if only to see the splendid 14th century Franciscan church of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, whose magnificent interior is almost entirely covered by stunning, recently restored fifteenth-century frescos. After the visit, the elegant town of Maglie welcomes us with its wonderful home-made pasta, offered in various shapes and made with the best bran, and delicious chocolate praline. After lunch we will visit a small but excellent winery. In the afternoon, Otranto presents itself as one of the most enchanting places in Italy, with its historical center leaning out towards the harbor. We will enjoy a guided tour of the Cathedral with its extraordinary floor. In the evening we will arrive at our hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.


Contact us for your Own Itinerary


We know each region inside out and can prepare “the” specific itinerary you desire with the exact services you need.

Also tagged with: Independent Journeys, Europe, Italy, Self Drive, Educational, Cultural, Special Interest, Culinary / Wine Discoveries, Customized Programs, Private Tour, Intriguing Getaway, Region, Puglia


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