Exploring Italy’s Heel

The town of Alberobello, Puglia.

Hidden Puglia

Otherworldly houses, wild beaches, and Baroque architecture await visitors

By Tim Johnson

They were weird and strange and felt somewhat otherworldly. Approaching them on foot felt a little like discovering an alien village in some outer-space sci-fi movie, not a UNESCO-protected settlement in the southern part of Italy. Climbing a small rise, the details of the tiny dwellings became clear—round, white-washed base with a conical roof, some splashed with symbols of good luck. All of them were hundreds of years old.

Built of dry stone and clearly crowded for even a single-family, why would anyone choose to live in such an odd dwelling? The experts disagree, but my guide told us the prevailing theory—that it all had to do with taxation. These houses, known collectively as “trulli,” were built to be taken down quickly. Generally erected in remote locations, residents would get some advance notice when the tax collector was approaching, and he couldn’t charge them for what wasn’t there.

“Just by pulling out a few stones, they could collapse them, then rebuild quickly when he was gone,” she said with a small smile.

There’s plenty to love in Puglia. It has the longest coastline of any Italian region, and is dotted with picture-perfect Mediterranean beach towns, ancient buildings set right on the rocks, with clear aquamarine blue waves crashing into a white foam below. Wild country, too, with an abundance of natural spaces to explore, such as Gargano National Park, where rugged cliffs, islands, and natural archways rise to one of the oldest pine forests on the continent.

You’ll find a rich and textured history in Puglia. Exposed to the trade winds, many peoples blew through the area over thousands of years of history, from Mycenaean Greeks, a bronze age culture that formed one of Europe’s first so-

ITALY

PUGLIA

Bari

The Puglia

region is home to 13 Blue Flag beaches.

phisticated civilizations more than 1,000 years B.C., to Sicilians and Saracens, who formed the Emirate of Bari. Each one left its mark.

In addition to touring trulli, I spent time in Lecce, a small city of fewer than 100,000 people that’s sometimes called the Florence of the South. Puglia’s second city, there’s a small Roman amphitheater and other ruins right in the heart of town. But it’s the baroque architecture that puts this place on the map—so much of it and so distinctive that Lecce Baroque (or “Barocco Leccese”) is actually a recognized architectural style.

Some of the city’s most famous buildings were built (or restored) by Italy’s most famous architects in the 16th and 17th centuries, Baroque’s heyday. Walking through town, between squares on small lanes, I was presented with a series of surprises, each new church, archway, or palace more impressive than the last. Their façades, replete with tiny, cacophonous details— gargoyles and gremlins and so much more—inspired some and repelled others.

And while its name may not conjure the vivid images other major Italian cities do, Bari, about 100 miles north, is Puglia’s capital and commercial center. Somewhat sleepy, this city of about 300,000 presents itself slowly and rewards those who take their time exploring its back lanes and pedestrian streets. Walking along a piazza lined with palms caressed by the breezes of the Adriatic Sea, my guide told me that a section of bricks here was once part of a road built by the Romans in the second century B.C.

We passed an olive tree right in the middle of a square (“We have over 60 million olive trees in the region—olive oil is the gold of Puglia,” our guide said), and proceeded to see some of the city’s biggest attractions. These include the Basilica of St. Nicholas—yes, that St. Nick. But far from a white-bearded man in a bright red suit whose belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly, the cathedral, built in 1087, reveals a very different person. The Baroque ceiling visually tells the story of a Greek-born man in present-day Turkey in the third century who performed many miracles and loved to give secret gifts. He remains the patron saint of many people, including sailors, children, brewers, and repentant thieves.

But it was the small spots deep in the Old Town that fascinated me. On one lane, women made pasta—orecchiette, specifically—which looked like small ears. Using pure muscle memory, they chatted away to each other, their hands constantly in motion, kneading together and forming a simple mixture of water, salt, and white flour. No eggs, because in the past, many were too poor to afford them.

On another hidden passage was a very tiny shop where a man carves wooden puppets. He told me he’s been creating them for more than 25 years.

“It takes two days just to make the head,” he said in heavily accented Italian as he continued to carve.

It’s unique, a bit strange, and certainly lovely. And perhaps not too surprising to find this here in Puglia, where curious discoveries in an often-overlooked region are definitely, always commonplace. 

Tim Johnson is based in Toronto. He has visited 140 countries across all seven continents.

40%

OF ITALY’S OLIVE OIL

is produced in Puglia.

If You Go

Fly: Bari’s Karol Wojtyla International Airport is served by a number of major European carriers.

Getting Around:

While public transit or taxis are a good option in the larger cities, you’ll almost certainly need a rental car to access everything this region has to offer. Stay: The Grande Albergo delle Nazioni is set right on the Adriatic. Enjoy sea views from your room or, even better, from the rooftop pool, then settle in for a nice seafood dish in the onsite restaurant.