When it
comes to travel there’s always someplace new on the horizon. Places
like Sri Lanka, Toronto and Panama are quickly emerging as some of the
hottest destinations for 2012, but there is one place on this year’s Hot
List that truly excites me – Puglia, Italy.
Quickly
becoming the ‘IT’ destination among travel connoisseurs’, Puglia is the
heel to Italy’s infamous boot and home to some of the brightest seas,
most diverse architecture, mouth-watering food and kindest people in all
of Italy.
Puglia
humbly holds out its rich and varied portfolio of assets. Five hundred
miles of Adriatic and Ionian coastline front landscapes—plains in the
south, mountains in the north—with a stark, unspoiled and almost
troubling beauty. Brilliantly whitewashed towns with cubic houses locked
together like pieces in a puzzle remind you that Turkey, Greece and
North Africa are neighbors. Waves of invasion by those neighbors and by
foreigners have created a unique and layered history.
With a
rich and ancient culture, brilliant seas, and delicious food, Puglia is
becoming Italy’s new Tuscany and definitely a place to visit on your
next trip to Italy.
Where to stay:
Borgo Egnazia
Where to eat:
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| Bordering the Adriatic, the idyllic region of Puglia awaits those with an aversion to tourist traps. Authentic and peaceful, Borgo Egnazia is an Italian retreat - even for Italians. |
Where to eat:
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| The Osteria del Tempo Perso is squirreled into cavelike rooms off one of the many narrow alleys in Ostuni, a hilltop cluster of whitewashed buildings nicknamed The White City. |
