Italy Country Guide - Puglia

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This region forms the easternmost part of the peninsula and has a long coastline, facing the Ionian and the Adriatic Seas.

Pulia, or Apuliain English, is essentially a flatland with wide arid expanses, terraces and table-lands poor in water. The coasts are essentially high and, in the Gargano district, plunge steep into the sea; in other areas, they are sandy or rocky, but usually flat.

Bari is the regional capital. Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce and Taranto are the capitals of the respective provinces.

Puglia, Land of the Trulli

Trulli are circular, conical-roofed white-washed houses built of stone without any use of mortar. Their roofs, topped with pinnacles, are tiled with concentric rows of gray slate and often painted with astrological or religious symbols.

Their origin is obscure but few of these solid-looking constructions date back more than a couple of centuries. The greatest concentration of Trulli houses is in and around Alberobello.

The characteristic of this type of construction is that the ambient inside temperature remains almost constant irrelevant of outside temperature, therefore it is relatively warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

The Coast

There is a string of small resorts on the coast between the modern fishing village of Savelletri to Costa Merlata. Torre Canne is a heavily developed – if small – beach resort, for better property options it is worth looking at the villages of Pilone, Rosa Marina, Villanova and Costa Merlata. These have attractive leafy avenues and small family beaches.

Ostuni

Ostuni is a very popular town with visitors, and there is a good range of property in the surrounding area. You will find small country properties with stone “lamias” or trulli in the distinctive Ostuni style, with flat or domed roofs, also a good range of country villas.

South of Ostuni

The countryside changes south of Ostuni, with flatter land becoming dominated by olive groves. Property here is good value. Around San Michele Salentino a large group of trulli for restoration can cost from €35,000.00, a two bedroom restoration, a habitable trullo with extension or new villa will cost around €90,00.00. The area is a little more remote than the Itria Valley, but there is the advantage here of easy access to Brindisi airport.

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