Puglia - Italy's New Tuscany

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

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

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:
Osteria del Tempo Perso

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.