Puglia, Italy
19 July 2026
Some friends of ours had been raving about the wonderful time they had spent recently discovering this region in the boot of Italy; they were already planning their next trip there. Since I was in Basle with a week to kill before returning to the Philippines, I decided to go take a look myself. I flew to Bari and then took a train to Lecce, the capital of the Salento.
It was right smack in the middle of the holiday season and unbearably hot (but then so too was Basle). Nevertheless, I was looking forward to it, having an incurable infatuation with the history, culture, style and gastronomy of this incredible country.
The region is best explored by car (as our friends had done) but I felt lazy and was reluctant to drive; instead, I planned to spend a few days checking out Lecce, where I was based, and then book a few day tours around the area. As it turned out, that strategy was not totally successful: the day trip I had planned to see such little gems as Alberobello, Locorotondo, Ostuni and Matera did not materialize. The tour operator cancelled the trip at the last minute due to an insufficient number of bookings but omitted to inform me. Well, I guess that’s also part of la dolce vita.
Lecce is often hailed as ‘the Florence’ of southern Italy; little wonder, its Baroque style art and architecture is truly a treasure to behold. However, this is a unique type of Southern Italian Baroque. The monochromatic light-coloured limestone with its faint honey hue is unique to the city. ‘Lecce’ is actually the name of the stone (a type of limestone) that is found in the Salento region, and this readily available natural resource is also responsible for the unique look as artists used this stone to build.
Architectural treasures abound on every street corner in the old town. Some highlights include the Duomo di Lecce, the Chiesa di Santa Croce the Palazzo Dei Celestini (which is attached to the church of Santa Croce) and the Chiesa di San Matteo. Another must see feature is the Porta Napoli (the Napoli gate) which was built in 1548 for the visit of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. Just nearby is the octagonal shaped church of Santa Maria della Porta.
After a few days wandering around Lecce, admiring the sights and sampling the local cuisine, it was time to explore further afield. One of the particularities of the region of Puglia is that it boasts coastlines on two different seas, the Ionian and the Adriatic. It was a goal of mine to have lunch on the Ionian Sea and then dinner on the Adriatic Sea, and I did just that. Our tour bus took us from Lecce to Gallipoli for lunch, then to the southernmost point of the region, Santa Maria di Leuca, before continuing up around to Otranto for dinner. Santa Maria di Leuca is the lowest point on the ‘heel’ of the Italian peninsula and where the Ionian and Adriatic waters converge.
The next day - the day my tour bus did not turn up - I took a train north to Polignano a Mare. The small town contains one of the most famous beaches in all of Puglia - and probably the most crowded! This was the site of the 2019 Red Bull Cliff Diving Competition, and is a great spot for adrenaline junkies. The photo I took there reminded me of a page straight out of a “Where’s Waldo?” book.
And what of the food? There were several delicious local specialties. The eminent pasta of Puglia is Orecchiette con le cime di rape. The pasta resembles little ears and this is literally the translation. The cime di rape can be translated as broccoli rabe. The traditional recipe uses breadcrumbs with top notch olive oil and some of the pasta water. Another classic dish is ciceri e tria (chickpeas and pasta in the local dialect). Traditionally, part of the pasta (tagliatelle) is fried to give it a crunch and added to the chickpeas; some recipes use a little broth.
Of course, one can also find some delicious seafood in this region. Fresh fish, shellfish and polpo (octopus) in particular but also ricci (sea urchin), splashed across tables in the fresh seafood markets. Regarding sweets, you will find almond as a prominent ingredient as they are grown in abundance here and on the neighboring island of Sicily. I particularly enjoyed the biscotti di mandorla (almond cookies).
The region of Puglia is also known for their production of cheese, specifically burrata, mozzarella and stracciatella. Burrata means buttered in Italian, and this is perhaps one of the most magical cheeses you will ever eat. It consists of a mozzarella pouch with a thin outside layer of firmer cheese and a delicate milky-like mousse inside. Think of it like a lava cake in cheese form…only served cold. Burrata doesn’t have a strong flavor, but it pairs unbelievably well with ripe tomatoes, basil and olive oil…a predestined match made in cheese heaven.
My own week of heaven had all too soon come to an end. I took a train to Brindisi and flew back to Basle the next day. I now understood why our friends had enjoyed their trip there so much and I had even planned to return there myself one day too.
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