Tour Overview
Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1: Bari- Andria, ItalyUpon arrival at Bari Airport, you will be met and driven to your hotel in Andria. Castel Del Monte Park Hotel offers comfortable accommodations and convenient facilities to make your stay in Andria a pleasant one. Situated in the city of Andria, the Castel Del Monte Park Hotel is about 40 minutes drive from Bari Airport. The hotel is located in an oasis of green trees and gardens offering peace and tranquility. The hotel has 32 guestrooms that are equipped with all comforts and furnished with taste. Relax and settle into your comfortable accommodations before dinner this evening. Optional: Sunset visit to Castel del Monte, one of southern Italy’s most prominent and talked-about landmarks. Rising from a hilltop, it’s visible for miles around and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Castel is built on an octagonal base, each corner equipped with an octagonal tower. Completely restored, its interconnecting rooms have decorative marble columns and fireplaces, and the doorways and windows are covered in corallite stone, which once covered the entire lower floor.
Dinner
Castel del Monte Park Hotel Day 2: Andria- Trani- Savelletri di Fasano
After breakfast, meet your tour guide in the hotel lobby at 9:00 am for a visit to the Castel del Monte, a 13th century castle built by Emperor Frederick II and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nobody really knows why he built it, or why he chose such a peculiar octagonal design. Some theories claim that according to the geometric-symbolic beliefs of the mid-13th century, the octagon represented the union of the circle and square, of God perfection (the infinite) and man-perfection (finite). The castle was therefore nothing less than a celebration of the relationship between man and God. Others claim it was a simple hunting lodge. Next, we will visit our first winemaker: Rivera, near Castel del Monte. This family owned winemaker is taking advantage of a soil particularly suited to wine making since the days of ancient Greece. Best wines include: Lama di Corvo, Puer Abulie, Cappellaccio, Andria and Il Falcone. Our next winemaker is Cocevola Agriturismo, Andria, a beautiful country estate and hotel that produce superior wine and olive oil. Among the best are Vandalo, Rosso, Cocevola, Pampanuto and Il Tratto. After our wine estate visits, we will stop for lunch at restaurant which has won many awards for its seafood specialties, and is housed in a 16th century building. Wine: Rivera Rose, Moscato di Trani. In the afternoon we will explore Trani, a medieval town built on the Adriatic Sea, known as the “Pearl of Puglia”. Here, we visit one of the most spectacular 13th century cathedrals and also visit the crypts, which are usually off, limits to the public! The cathedral, dedicated to St. Nicholas the Pilgrim, was started in 1097 but not completed until the 13th century. The grand interior of the cathedral is stunningly simple in Norman style. Near the main altar, take a look at the remains of a 12th century floor mosaic. Below the church is the crypt, a forest of columns, where the remains of St. Nicholas are kept beneath the altar. Dinner and overnight at Masseria Torre Coccaro, Savelletri di Fasano. Wine: Cocevola Pampanuto, Rivera Cappellacio. Torre Coccaro is a Masseria built not far from the sea whose origins date from the 16th century. Surrounded by antique olive trees, almond trees and carobs, this tower, once a stronghold against the Turks, has now become a five star resort whose aim is to bring back the guests to the antique natural life and make them benefit in full from the simple pleasures of rural life. The courtyard hosts an ancient chapel dating from 1730 where the people of Savelletri, a fishermen’s village nearby, walked to worship the patron saints, before reaching the tufara, the quarry where the tuffs to build the farm were cut; this tufara has now become the vegetable garden of the farm; along an ancient pergola from which the resourceful irrigation technology can be observed.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Masseria Torre Coccaro Day 3: Savelletri di Fasano- Alberobello- Martina Franca
This morning we visit the Albea Winery and Wine Museum in Alberobello. The Winery and the Wine Museum were founded at the beginning of the 20th century and the structure is completely made of stone, with tanks buried in the rock. The elegant internal architecture echoes that of a mosque: star-shaped vaults joining high to the supporting pillars. Close to the winery is the wine museum. Wine tasting: Primitivo Terre del Sole, Primitivo Petrarosa and Petranera, Negroamaro Terre del Sole, Locorotondo Il Selva white DOC. Now explore Alberobello, the trulli capital of the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its 1,500 unique conical trulli homes. Then we will stroll through the hilltop town of Martina Franca. The town has one of the finest old towns in Puglia. Baroque balconies decorated with wrought iron look down on the narrow alleyways little changed in centuries. Then we will stop for lunch at a restaurant built on the rocks right on the sea. Small fishing boats deliver the fish daily right to the door. Its specialty is “crudo”, the Italian equivalent of sushi. Wine: Cocevola IL Tratto, Albea Locorotondo Il Selva DOC. Return to Savelletri di Fasano for a free afternoon with private beach club and spa access. Enjoy dinner at the hotel this evening.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Masseria Torre Coccaro Day 4: Savelletri di Fasano- Ostuni- Monoploi- Savelletri di Fasano
Ostuni is reputed as an architectural jewel, and is commonly referred to as the “White Town” for its white walls and typically white painted architecture. A monument on its own, the town’s largest buildings are the cathedral and the Bishop’s Palace, alongside with a few palazzi of some of the aristocratic families of the region. Lunch today is at a restaurant at the center of a large hillside estate overlooking the Mediterranean. During the 16th century it served as a watchtower against the raids of Ottoman and Saracen Turks, and now has been converted into a refined, luxury 5-star resort. This afternoon a private 45 ft yacht will take guests of Torre Maizza to visit the caves of Polignano a Mare and the ancient harbor of Monopoli with swims in crystal-clear water coves. Dinner tonight is at the hotel. Masseria’s are converted farmhouses and in that tradition they all grow their own seasonal foods.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Masseria Torre Coccaro Day 5: Savelletri di Fasano- Brindisi- Cellino San Marco- Leece
A stroll through Brindisi. A port city grown during Roman times which became the heart of its naval power. It was connected to Rome via the Appian Way and a column still marks its end. It became important again during the Crusades, which left for Jerusalem from its port. Rubino tasting at Penny Restaurant, Brindisi. Rubino, a small family owned boutique winemaker, does his wine tasting in Restaurant Penny, a hot spot on the harbor, housed in a 12th century building. Rubino revived an old indigenous vine called Sussumaniello, producing a superb red called Torre Testa. Top wines: Malvasia of Salento and Torre Testa. Our wine tasting will be followed by lunch at the same restaurant. Specialties: Spaghetti with sea urchins, stuffed aubergine mussels with broad beans, all accompanied by Rubino wines including Marmorello Bianco, a unique blend of Chardonnay and Malvasia Bianca. The next stop is the winery Catine Due Palme, a cooperative of 400 growers specializing in local grape varieties such as Negroamaro, Malvasia Nera and Primitivo. Top wines are Primitivo Ettamianno, Selvarossa, Red Salice Talentino, canonico Negroamaro, all consistently winning awards. They also produce an excellent Chardonnay called Santa Caterina and white Salice Salentino. Dinner and overnight at Risorgimento Hotel, Lecce. Totally renovated, this spectacular 18th century palace in the heart of Lecce is the non-plus-ultra of elegance and refinement, with dramatic views of the Roman Amphitheater, with a spa and wine cellar. Wine: Due Palme Santa Caterina Chardonnay and Canonico Negroamora.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Risorgimento Resort Day 6: Lecce
Morning tour of Lecce. Because of the rich Baroque architectural monuments, Lecce is nicknamed “The Florence of the South”. It has stunning monuments such as the Roman Amphitheater in the main square, the Duomo from the 12th century and the Church of the Holy Cross together with dozens of imposing aristocratic palaces from the 16th and 17th centuries. For lunch today, we stop at a landmark restaurant housed in a baroque building with superb Apulian specialties. Wine: De Castris Mona Lisa White and Due Palme Primitivo Ettamiano. The afternoon in Lecce is free for you to explore as you wish. Wine tasting this evening is at the Wine Cellar at the Hotel Risorgimento and dinner at Le Quatro Spezierie, serving creative fusion cuisine.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Risorgimento Resort Day 7: Lecce- Otranto
This morning’s winemaker visit is to Leone de Castris. Their ancestor, a Spanish nobleman bought ten thousand acres in 1665 and started planting vines and olive trees. The most famous wine is Five Roses, born during World War II when the wine tasted by the American General Charles Poletti and bottled in discarded GI’s beer bottles became popular with U.S. top military brass. Outstanding wines are Donna Lisa White and Red, Illemos, Messere Andrea, Salice Salentino Riserva and Negrino.
Our lunch today will be at a hot spot in the center of Otranto where the locals flock to experience its exquisite regional cuisine. Not to be missed is their signature pasat with chickpea sauce. Wines: Taurino’s Salice Salentino and I Sierri. After lunch, stroll through Otranto, an ancient Greek city laid out on a beautiful gulf with many sites to see from the castle of the Aragonese to the cathedral built in the year 1088. This very charming town is full of narrow winding streets, shops, cafes and restaurants bustling until the middle of the night. Then we will explore Otranto Harbor. Meet the fishing boats as they unload their catch with Chef Massimo of Vico Lopez Restaurant. You will get on the fishing boat and pick the fish to eat at his restaurant tonight. Dinner at Restaurant Vico Lopez with wines from Leone de Castris. Chef Massimo’ specialties are octopus salad, swordfish carpaccio, scampi linguine or your “catch of the day”! Overnight at the Palazzo Papaleo Hotel, a 5-Star hotel in a 17th century palazzo next to the cathedral and the port with spectacular views of the harbor.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hotel Palazzo Papaleo Day 8: Otranto- Brindisi- Depart
Depart from Otranto for Brindisi Airport.
Breakfast
