I have a little over two weeks left until I leave for Italy and I am still figuring out some of my itinerary for about two weeks. I finally decided on exploring the region of Puglia, which is in the southeastern area of Italy, in the heel of the boot and along the Adriatic coast. I have heard that Puglia has a long narrow coastline with beautiful beaches, and its inland area is known for growing tomatoes, olives, eggplants, artichokes, citrus and almonds.
At the suggestion of my wonderful Italian friend Angela, I decided to make reservations in the small town of Ostuni, which is aptly nicknamed the White City, since all the buildings in its historic district must be painted white. I plan to make Ostuni my base from which I can visit the other towns of interest in Puglia by bus or train.
The Puglia region is also known for its unusual conical shaped roofed homes called trulli, especially in Alberobello, as well as some wonderful caves with stalagmites and stalactites in the town of Castellana. I can’t wait to explore this area which is not often visited by American tourists!
Bonnie D
An artist friend of mine, Don S. went to Italy a few years back and when he came back he painted several cityscapes with all white buildings and that amazing light that you see in the background of Italian and Greek paintings. The odd thing though was the roofing form. I thought he was taking artistic license with them. (Artists, you know what I mean.) Now I am going to ask him why he didn’t call them his Ostuni/ Alberobello period. Perhaps he preferred them to be his secret.