PUGLIA TIPS

HOWARD & Co

SUMMER 2015

Ciao guys, it’s impossible to list all the beautiful places in Puglia, but we think one of the best things to do in this region is to do what the locals do and go to

“authentic” places, eat the simple but tasty food/fish& relax with an amazing local wine.

Here is our super short list of places and food,we hope you will find this helpful.

Divertitevi in our Puglia!!!!!

Ciao Frankie & Francesca

PLACES

OTRANTOOtranto is a historic seaside town and port on the Adriatic coast of southern Italy, in the region of Puglia. It’s a small place with a lovely holiday atmosphere, and makes a good destination for a day trip or a longer stay. The picture-perfect blue waters, white buildings and diving rocks make Otranto the frequent cover star of maps, books and articles about Puglia.

By car : 20 Minutes from Villa Gioiello

SANTA CESARIA TERME (LECCE)A relatively new town, its development on a rocky coastline, riddled with underground caverns and fissured rock strata was encouraged by the presence of hot natural springs.The thermal baths are open from May through till November, and nowadays the waters are regulated at a tem-perature of less than 40 °C (104 °F) as indicated for therapeutic usage. The various hot mud and mineral treat-ments combat arthritic and rheumatoid problems, as well as respiratory, dermatological, trauma and stress ailments. They are also recommended for general well being and beauty treatments.

By car : 10 Minutes from Villa Gioiello

CASTRO MARINA (LECCE)Castro rests on the rocky shore of the Adriatic, on the stunning Salento coast. The marina is a main attraction, though, with good reason. The coast is riddled with caves and coves, where wooden fishing boats are harbored and where tourists sun lazily. The caverns are interesting to explore and boats can be hired to visit them or to spend a day in a secluded cove. The biggest of the caves is the Grotta Zinzulusa, which is decorated with stalactites, stalagmites, and even an internal lake.

By car : 15 Minutes from Villa Gioiello

SANTA MARIA DI LEUCA (LECCE)Santa Maria di Leuca sits on the southernmost tip of the Salento peninsula where the waters of the Adriatic Sea mingle and merge with those of the Ionian.Santa Maria di Leuca is also famous for the iconic lighthouse.

By car : 1 Hour from Villa Gioiello

GALLIPOLI (LECCE)The town of Gallipoli is divided into two parts, the modern and the old city. The new town includes all the new-est buildings including a skyscraper. The old town is located on a limestone island, linked to the mainland by a bridge built in the 16th century.

By car : 1 Hour from Villa Gioiello

LECCELecce is the main town on Puglia’s Salento peninsula and a major draw for the area’s tourism industry.A quintessentially southern Italian town, bursting with piazzas and palazzi, Lecce’s old town centre is a wonder-ful setting for the strolling visitor. Cafés, bars and restaurants flank the streets offering refreshments and front row seats from which to observe the comings and goings of the locals as they go about their daily business.

By car : 45 Minutes from Villa Gioiello

MARTINA FRANCA (TARANTO)The old quarter of this town is a picturesque scene of winding alleys, blinding white houses and blood-red geraniums. There are graceful baroque and rococo buildings here too, plus airy piazzas and curlicue iron-work balconies that almost touch above the narrow streets. This town is the highest in the Murgia

By car : 2 Hours from Villa Gioiello

ALBEROBELLO (BARI)The trulli, the characteristic cone-roofed houses of Alberobello, Apulia, make up one of the 50 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy. Alberobello, an inland village of the Province of Bari, is undoubtedly the Capital of the Trulli: its historic center is integrally constituted by these rather particular white, pyramidal structures that make it so famous and identifi-able.

By car :2 Hours from Villa Gioiello

OSTUNI (BRINDISI)Ostuni “the white city”s one of the most stunning cities in southern Italy famous for the dazzling effect of its whitewashed houses. Is this happy combination of the natural and the manmade that has made Ostuni one of the most attractive cities in the region and an essential part of any tour of Italy.

By car : 1 Hour 30 Minutes from Villa Gioiello

TRANI (BARI)Known as the ‘Pearl of Puglia’, beautiful Trani has a sophisticated feel, particularly in summer when well-heeled visitors pack the array of marina-side bars.

By car : 2 Hours 45 Minutes from Villa Gioiello

POLIGNANO A MARE (BARI)A shining gem on the coast of the Valle d’Itria, perched atop a 20 metre-high limestone cliff above the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic, Polignano a Mare truly lives up to its name and literally could not be any more ‘at sea’! Polignano is famous throughout the world for three things, cliff diving, its outstanding ice-cream and the third is the great Domenico Modugno, who wrote and sang numerous classic songs, including the massive in-ternational hit, Volare (originally entitled Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu)! The locals are incredibly proud of their favourite son and rightly so. As you wander through the streets that inspired such a wonderful song, you might well find yourself involuntarily singing or whistling.By car : 1 Hour 45 Minutes from Villa Gioiello

Pescoluse (LECCE), “Maldive of Salento”When the tide is out at this beach on Puglia’s Ionian coast, the top of a wide sandbar peaks above the crystal clear waves. As the sun sets behind the beach, these mounds of sand resemble tiny islands, giving the beach its nickname, Le Maldive del Salento. Pescoluse stretches for 5 miles (8km), its attractive dunes creating a natural barrier between the fine white sandy beach and the road, which runs parallel to the coast about 250m inland.The standard is fairly good all the way along the beach, although Boteguita Beach Club (+39 320 184 1771, www.boteguita.com) and Le Maldive Summer Club (+39 349 852 0580, www.lemaldive.org) are both highly recom-mended.By car : 55 Minutes from Villa Gioiello

FOOD

PASTICCIOTTO This pie is called Pasticciotto and is typical from my little town in the South of Italy. You wont be able to find it anywhere else! It is basically a soft pie filled with custard. I just love it! You guys should give it a try!!!

A baker from Puglia who named a chocolate cake after US President Barack Obama,

PANZEROTTO FRITTOA panzerotto is very similar to a calzone, but it is fried.... The most common fillings are tomato and mozzarella, but spinach, mushrooms, baby corn, and ham are often used. Another filling is onions stir fried in olive oil and seasoned with salted anchovies and capers.

FOCACCIAFocaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian bread product[1] similar in style and texture to pizza doughs. It may be topped with herbs or other ingredients.

Focaccia can be used as a meal or side to many meals, as a base for pizza, or as sandwich bread.

PANINO CON POLPO ‘Panino con polpo’ - grilled octopus on a sandwich

FRISELLA ‘They resemble bagels without holes, formed in rings with the centers filled in with one of the dough ends. Made with barley and whole wheat flour and with less water than normally used to make bread, friselle are brown in color, dry and crunchy.To prepare, you dip them in water to soften them a little; an action called bagnare le friselle in Italian. Typically, you garnish them with local tomatoes, salt, oregano and drizzle Pugliese olive oil over them.

CAFFE’ IN GHIACCIOA caffè in ghiaccio is, quite literally, an iced coffee. This simple twist on the traditional Italian espresso can be had all over Salento, but its true home is Lecce. While Salento’s beaches, cuisine, olive groves, and baroque churches put southern Puglia on the tourist circuit, the informed visitor knows also to make time for a caffè in ghiaccio con latte di mandorla.

PUGLIA TIPS

HOWARD & Co

SUMMER 2015