Puglia

Truffle Hunting in Italy is popular in many regions, but the main areas are Alba in Piedmont and Puglia. Learn more about this exquisite mushroom here.

Things to Do in Lecce Italy Lecce Italy is a city of 90,000 located about as far south on the Italian boot as you can go. And though it is not well known—or perhaps because of this—it took my breath away when I first stumbled upon it three years ago. Intricate Baroque sculptures pop out of …

A Summer Jaunt through Puglia – Another Side of Italy You’ve experienced Rome, the domes of Florence, the beauty of Tuscany, the sea spray of Amalfi – where to next? Italy is home to a wealth of incredible regions and hotspots, some far more touristy than others. For a taste of something a little off …

This Easter, Doctor Silvestro Silvestori has invited us to join him and his family in Lecce, Puglia for Easter Dinner. The owner of  The Awaiting Table cooking school, Silvestro teaches hungry travelers all about the traditional cuisine of the Salento peninsula in the Puglia region, aka the heel of the Italian boot. I came across The …

  Even though Italy has one of the highest obesity rates in Europe, the Mediterranean diet is alive and well in the southern Italian region of Puglia. Here traditional foods include fresh seafood, eggless pasta, and plenty of hearty, often foraged vegetables, such as chicory and wild artichokes. For the first time in all my …

Visiting the Historical Trulli of Alberobello, Italy Icons of the Puglia region of Italy, the conical huts are known as Trulli, poke out everywhere in the region, but nowhere are they as numerous as in the city of Alberobello. The village was declared a UNESCO Heritage site in 1996. Demonstrating an architectural sense from another …

A panzerotto is a fried version of a calzone that is unique to the Puglia region of Italy. Piping hot and stuffed with mozzarella and tomato sauce, eating a panzerotto is a sinfully satisfying experience. Panzerotti (plural) have crossed the Atlantic and become popular in the United States, particularly Texas and New Jersey, but tasting …

Puglia’s Cuisine is seafood rich and fresh, and that includes Puglia’s antipasti. Ricotta-stuffed mozzarella, swordfish carpaccio, fresh ricotta wrapped with prosciutto and dribbled with balsamic, stuffed mussels, stewed sweet bell peppers, marinated octopus, and mushroom fonduta–the parade of antipasti seems endless when dining in Puglia restaurants. Commonly listed as Antipasto della Casa or simply Antipasti …

  Oria is an ancient, hilltop town in the south of Italy. Located in the Puglia region, the town was thriving as long ago as 200 B.C., when it was named Hyria and was part of the Messapian civilization. Today, the city retains its beauty, if not its abundance of activity, and provides visitors with …

  A coastal town on Italy’s Salento Peninsula, Otranto is a city out of a fairytale (in fact, the first Gothic novel ever written was inspired by Otranto’s castle), but the city also has elements of a tourist trap. Fortunately, the tourist-focused areas of the city can be easily bypassed with just a little know-how. …