There’s something about Puglia that draws you into its soul the very moment you arrive
From our travel notebook, we’d like to share some impressions and experiences from our first press trip to Puglia this spring, hosted by Puglia Doc, and Consorzio Terra Antica and Perillo Tours.
Joining us on the tour were: Rosanna Coscia, President of the Puglia Center, Vito Rago, U.S,Vice-President of The Puglia Center, Leonardo Labia, Italy, Vice-President of the Puglia Center, Martha Bakerjian, who writes the Guide to Italy Travel for About.com, part of the New York Times Company; Jennifer Ceaser who covers travel for the New York Post; Jessica Langan-Peck from Frommer’s Travel Guide online newsletter; Sharon McDonnell, a free-lance travel writer, based in New Orleans; Rossella Rago, host of RRCooking with Nonna.com; and our generous sponsors Dr. Raffaele De Santis, President of Puglia DOC; and Dr. Stefano L’Abbate, President of Consorzio Terra Antica; and our press partners, Marco Magano, Director of Bari Television and Michele Oggiano of FaxOnline.it.
After a comfortable flight on Alitalia to Rome, we boarded a short flight to Brindisi, arriving on a warm and sunny afternoon, just in time to begin our tour of the beautiful countryside of Otranto. Located in the southern Murgia hills reaching to the blue-green Adriatic Sea, we were able to enjoy a view of numerous rows of olive groves and palm and cypress trees on our drive to the Masseria Montelauro (www.masseriamontelauro.it ), our home away from home for a few days. A masseria is a restored farmhouse resort, popular throughout the Puglia region. They offer unique lodgings, restaurants, orange and lemon-scented gardens, and walkways, poolside havens and lounging areas, fit for a King and Queen.
We began our journey visiting Otranto’s local town and historic center and taking lots of photos. By the late afternoon, we arrived back at the Masseria Montelauro, and were treated to some aperitifs, and delicious home-made eggplant meatballs prepared by our gracious host, Elisabetta Massaro, the proprietor of the Masseria. To top off the first evening, we were treated to a pasta making demonstration, that was just like watching a sculptor create a work of art, from just water and flour. Did you know that there are a series of basic utensils that are used to cut the various shapes of pasta that make the holes in the spaghetti? Dr. Raffele De Santis, president of Puglia DOC, who dedicates his time and energy to promote Puglia, made sure that from the time we arrived in Puglia we would have every convenience and all our travel requests would be taken care of. So all of us, were very comfortable and relaxed from the start.
After a short rest, we arrived in the rustic and homey dining room for a delicious and healthy meal of many succulent meat, vegetable and fish dishes. We were able to enjoy a pleasant time, getting to know each other. After a good night’s sleep, we headed to the local towns the next morning to see the architecture and experience the culture and history with our wonderful tour guides, Rossella Colucci, public relations and marketing for Puglia DOC, (www.pugliadoc.net) and Daniela Lopez y Royo, owner of a tour guide agency called “ViviSalento” who often works with Puglia DOC. Daniela is a dedicated historian, who took us to see many old churches, especially in Lecce, referred to as the Florence of the south and the home of Baroque. It was a very special treat to study the architecture of these ancient churches and chapels and learn about the local Saints and the people who built these beautiful treasures.
We also visited a few popular “hot” spots for afternoon coffee breaks and for some people watching. We reveled in some of the secrets of Ostuni and Lecce that Daniela shared with us that have been handed down through the ages. One that we all found interesting, was that when a women’s husband was away, if she put some geraniums in her window that would mean she was open to having some company. Hmm!
