Once a sleepy backwater adored by Italian holidaymakers but relatively unknown to visitors from further afield, Puglia burst onto the international travel and property scene in 2000 when budget airlines first put it within easy reach, and it has never looked back since. A distinctive region with a character all its own, Puglia tends to make a big impression on first-time visitors and they usually keep coming back. Bizarrely, despite attracting so many admirers, Puglia still manages to retain its uncrowded feel and all its unspoilt natural charm.
A peninsular region surrounded in some places by the sea on both sides, Puglia is almost an island. And like most islands, it has a strong, unique identity. Everywhere you look, Puglia is a little bit exceptional. To begin with, it has the longest coastline of any mainland Italian region. Then there are its local building styles, found nowhere else. Round-walled, conical-roofed trulli sprout from the landscape like Smurf houses. White lamie cottages sit like giant sugarcubes in the fields. And while stout, elegant masserie also exist on Sicily, they are more typical in Puglia. Then there are the olive trees. Are any quite as big, twisting and monstrous as here? Perhaps. But here on Italy’s high heel, it’s easy to believe that everything is a bit more fantastical.
The iconic seaside town of Gallipoli