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Returning to Puglia

Last year, in 2023 we stayed in Puglia and immediately decided we would return in 2024. We did and had a wonderful time in the Region bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Seas. This year we stayed at a villa located between the towns of Carovigno and San Vito dei Normanni - located about 5 km from the well known town of Ostuni.

The location was good. There were were many towns to visit, usually within a half-hour or so drive, and other than Ostuni and Lecce, which we have visited before, all the towns were interesting and new visits.

We stayed at the Villa Siena, a three bedroom house with pool and both ground level and roof top patios. It was great to just walk out the door and hit the pool which was so close to the house. We had some cloudy weather but that did not stop a swim each day.

Exploring the old Masseria of Puglia

Masseria Bellolougo

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One of the projects I took on was to explore the remains of the masseria's in Puglia. These fortified farms were built in the 15th and 16th Centuries continuing a practice that dates back to Roman times. That may make them sound better than they were. The fortified estates, typically with walls and some with watch towers, were protected areas from regular attacks that took place typically from pirates landing on the coast. While that sounds pleasant enough, the system was called latifundium, and it involved large agricultural estates work by peasant or slaves labourers (depending on the time frame). Workers were in a partial state of servitude. In 1950 the practice known as latifundium was abolished in Italy.

The Masseria Bellolougo, pictured above, dates back to the 1500s and its castle-like structured used for various uses. It was a massive structure but a group of dogs met me, and it seemed to be occupied by people living out of vans and trucks.

Not that far was another location, the Masseria Sant'Elmi, photo above, and like many is in various states of decay. Walking around the walls I could get the sense of the original size of the fortified farm.

Lecce

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We wanted to return to Lecce, it was located about an hour from our villa. The town is well known for its baroque architecture and is referred to as the “Florence of the South”. I would always have this town as a "should see" when in Puglia.

We drove into the town, easily found parking. We arrived to find the town to full of tourists. It was a shock to us as almost all the towns we had seen, other than Ostuni, were relatively quiet and easy to enjoy.

I can't blame so many wanting to visit the town. The architecture is very impressive. One thing that has changed was a ticketing system for the major churches and museums. You buy a 12 Euro ticket at the tourist office, and allows entrance to a number of the more noted churches.

The streets were so crowded, and since we have been here before a couple of times, we decided to leave after only a few hours in the town. But we needed one more surprise. Walking to the street where our car was parked we saw a very nice upscale restaurant with outdoor tables. We decided to stop, have a good lunch, and then drive to the next town, Galatina. Well the lunch was good but the $200 bill that showed on our VISA statement was a but of a shock!

Galatina

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We read an article which said if you found Lecce too busy, just drive about 20 km south and visit Galatina. It is another town in Puglia with impressive baroque architecture. It does have baroque architecture but nothing in comparison to Lecce But for us, the most significant issue we arrived during the afternoon shut-down and believe it, this town shuts down in the afternoon. It was like a ghost town. The Romanesque church of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria, 1390 was built by the Count of Soleto, has an impressive door and rose window. Inside are frescoes that date to 1435.

I enjoyed walking the streets of the historic centre, behind the church, but basically everything was locked up tight.

Grottaglie

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Every day was a drive to a different town, and Grottaglie was very interesting. It was difficult finding a parking lot, but I did find one and then walked down to one of the entrances to the historic centre. The town is located in the Salento peninsula (between the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea). The historic centre sits in the middle of a number of ravines. The town has a long history and lived under feudalism until 1806. The town did not grow outside the original medieval walls until after the unification of Italy in 1860.

The town has been a centre of ceramics for hundreds of years. In the 1700s there were 42 ceramic companies operating in the town employing over 5,000 people. I enjoyed my morning walking the old streets, taking in the buildings and stopping in cafes. The bar pictured above was a good stop! The castle is now a cermics museum and had an impressive exhibit.

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Beautiful old courtyard, feels like being in a cloister, is opposite the main door of the old 14th castle which is now a ceramics museum.

Francavilla Fontana

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Oh I loved this town. It ranks as one of the most enjoyable morning walks I had. It has such an authentic feel. I was the only tourist in town! Francavilla Fontana is located in the province of Brindisis, is is called the toww of the Imperiali, after the Imperiali family. the Imperiali, a power family of feudal lords ruled the town from the end of the 16th to the 18th century. The name says much, Franca means tax-free and villa means town. The tax-free status only lasted so long. The square castle (Palazzo Imperiali) sits in the centre of the town. The main church, called Mother Church, in the photo above, dates back to 1743 and the watctower dates back to 1750. But it was not the sights that made this town such a pleasure for me. It was the vibe of the town. A town of local people. Numerous cafes, incuding many on Umberto I square, to enjoy a coffe and the feeling of the town.

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Walking around the town, more than once I was stopped by a local who pointed to something that I should take a photo of. The skyline of Francavilla Fontana was one of those sights.

Ostuni

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Even though we have visited Ostuni a number of times, it was only 5 km from our villa, so one morning I decided I should drive over and have another visit. It was an eye opener of how tourism is increasing in Puglia. With a population of 32,000 in the winter and 200,000 in the summer, I was on the tail end of the summer and it was crowded.

Like many towns in Italy, it was passed from noble family to family. But in 1507 it passed to the Duchess of Bari, wife of the Duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Sforza. Under her role, the town thrived under the Italian Renaissance.

The old town is built up on the hill. I remember slowly walking up the hill when I was in the town in 2023. Now, I found skooter cabs racing up the narrow streets taking tourists to the top where the impressive Ostuni Cathedral and Bishop's palace stand.

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Beautiful as the town is, and it is one of the towns any visitor to Puglia should see, after a few hours I could take no more and left to return to the peace of our villa.

 Abbazia di Santa di Cerrate

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I actually thought I was driving to visit a monastery in ruins. So when the Abbazia di Santa Cerrate was not coming up in the car GPS system, I thought that was because I was looking for the location of some ruins. But I knew the general area and I thought I will find it, just by following road signs. Well that worked and I found Santa Cerrate to find it is not in ruins, it has had considerable restoration work completed. I had a very good visit here.

The Abbazia opens at 10:00, the tourist centre has a video that provides informative background information on the history of the Abbazia. It is located off SP100 between the town of Squinzano and the coast.

Torre Pozzella

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Where possible I tried to visit the old defense towers that line the coast. The long coastline of the Region created many points of access for invaders and pirates from Dalmatia, Albania or the Greek islands. The towers were built by the Spanish in 1500 as a system to sight invades as a means of protecting the Kingdom of Naples. Each tower can be seen by the next. Typically smoke signals during the day or a fire at night. Access to the towers usually was by using a non-fixed wood staircsase that was lowers for those who should enter the tower. Inside there was a cistern to collect rainwater, and areas to live. By about 1700 there were 130 towers.

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Torre Chianca

Today the towers stand in various states of decay. Some are only names on the map, with no tower left. A few, unfortunately one I tried to visist, are within protected wildlife areas with no road access.

Ceglie Messapica

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Located in the Brindisi province of Puglia, about 11 km south of Ostuni, the historic centre of the town has the iconic white lime buildings and narrow stone-paved streets. An ancient town, that became a Roman colony and then after the fall of the Roman Empire, ruled by feudal lords/families. The Castle of Ceglie Messapic houses the museum and library.

Carovigno

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This is a small town, not far from our villa on our 2024 visit to the area. I would drive in to shop for food, and was not impressed with the town, until one day I followed a street up a hill and found myself with access to this historic centre. In this area is the Dentice di Frasso Castle, built in the 14th and 15th Centuries. I enjoyed walking the narrow maze of streets and it felt like the other hill-top towns of Puglia.

San Vito dei Normanni

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Our villa house was half way between Cavorigno and San Vito dei Normanni. San Vito was the town that had the largest old historic centre to walk around. Again, on my first visit the centre was just so-so, but the charm of the town is around the old castle. The current name of the town (Normanni) is to honour the person believed to have founded the town, Norman Bohemond of Hauteville. For his love of hunting in the area he built a square tower (1050 to 1111) which still stands today. Eventually the town came under the ownership of Dentice Frasso. The centre, with the main piazza, has the medieval castle of Dentice Frasso with parts dating back to the 11th Century built by Hauteville. Parking in the historic centre is a challenge.