| Apulia |
|
Some of the best known Doc wines of Apulia can be found farther south, in the province of Bari: Castel del Monte, Gioia del Colle, Rosso Barletta, Rosso Canosa. Here the wine tourist can visit some culturally significant places, like the famous Castel del Monte, with the thirteenth-century castle, built at the times of Frederick II of Swabia and listed among the Unesco world heritage sites. In the town of Barletta there are some beautiful churches, such as the Basilica del Santo Sepolcro and the churches of San Giacomo, Sant’Andrea, and San Gaetano.
Gioia del Colle is located on the Murge plateau, in an area characterized by remains of Neolithic settlements. The town developed around a Byzantine fortress, later it became part of a Norman fief and then of Swabian state-owned land. Not to be missed is a visit to Alberobello in Val d'Itria, the famous town of the “Trulli“, the conical-shaped stone dwellings, which are typical of that area. The province of Brindisi is the gateway to the Salento territory, where the Locorotondo Doc, Brindisi Doc and Martina Doc wines are produced. The renowned town of Cisternino, with a medieval, 17-meter-high Norman-Swabian tower, is situated near the beautiful Itria Valley. Proceeding towards Lecce, the wine tourist can stop in Ostuni, to admire its old, whitewashed dwellings, the beautiful beaches and the crystal clear sea. The Itria valley leads to Martina Franca, in the province of Taranto, a town rich in Baroque monuments and located in the territory where the Primitivo di Manduria, one of the best known wines of Apulia, is produced in various communes. The town of Manduria is known for its main church, the Collegiata, (an important example of Renaissance architecture in Apulia), and for the imposing Palazzo Imperiali-Filotico, built in the eighteenth century, on the ruins of a Norman castle.
The so called “heel of Italy” covers the province of Lecce, the land of the famous negroamaro, the star red vine variety in Salento. Among the best known Doc wines of the area are the Salice Salentino, Nardò, Galatina, Leverano and Copertino wines. The Salento territory offers a great variety of tourist attractions. Santa Maria di Leuca, on the tip of Apulia, is the site of beautiful villas. Galatina is an important center with churches and Baroque palaces, built in the honey-colored stone of Lecce. In the Grecia Salentina area, the Greek origins of small towns and villages are still evident in the local dialect and traditions: Calimera, with its Greek-sounding name and beautiful Melpignano, the town of the “Night of the Taranta“, a music festival taking place in August.
Places to visit Lecce, the main town of the Salento peninsula, is the capital of the Baroque style in Apulia, for the richness and variety of its palaces, churches and monuments, dating back to that artistic and cultural period. In ancient times, the town’s history was linked with Messapian, Roman and Greek culture. In 1463 it became part of the Kingdom of Naples and during the reign of Charles V, the new city walls with the present “Porta Napoli” were built. A lot of religious buildings were erected in 1630. The town center is the elegant Piazza Sant’Oronzo, partly occupied by the ruins of the Roman amphitheater; in the middle of the square, there is a column with the statue of the patron Saint of Lecce. The beautiful Palazzo del Sedile was the former Town hall, while the nearby church of San Marco was built in the past by a colony of Venetian merchants. Not to be missed is the spectacular Piazza Duomo. The Duomo of Lecce, built between 1144 and 1230, is one of the most beautiful Cathedrals in Italy.
|
