CNA - APULIA: Experiential tour 8 days

DAY 1:

After arriving at Bari (or Brindisi) airport, you will head to the Hotel Relais "Antica Masseria" (or similar), where you will be welcomed with a drink.

In the evening, you will enjoy a delicious dinner at the masseria, prepared with carefully selected seasonal products.

DAY 2:

After breakfast at the masseria, you will depart for Alberobello. Here, a certified local guide will take you on a tour of this extraordinary city, characterized by ancient dry stone cone-shaped houses, the trulli, which are a UNESCO heritage site. You will be surrounded by shops selling handcrafted and locally made goods, and characteristic inns where you can taste traditional products.

Lunch is not included, but we can recommend tasting a menu based on seasonal and local products in one of the many trullo restaurants in the city center.

In the afternoon, you will head to Locorotondo, considered one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, perched on a hill with its white houses reflecting the Apulian sun. Surrounding the town, vineyards stretch as far as the eye can see, and it is among these fertile fields that the precious wine of the same name is produced. In this breathtaking setting, you will enjoy a sublime tasting experience: an apericena with wine and local dishes, directly in a terraced vineyard with a view of the Itria Valley, sitting on hay bales.

DAY 3:

Breakfast at the masseria will give you the energy to reach Bari. In front of the majestic Castello Svevo, an expert guide dressed as a 13th-century pilgrim will be waiting to tell you about the city's history. You will relive a true journey through time in an unusual medieval Bari, with tales and legends.

Lunch is at your leisure.

In the afternoon, you can stroll through the shopping streets of the Apulian capital, in the Murattiano district, and enjoy the splendid seascape of the waterfront.

In the evening, you will return to the Hotel Relais "Antica Masseria" (or similar), where you will be treated to a delicious dinner.

DAY 4:

Before embarking on a new day of adventure, you will need to pack your bags, as this day marks your last breakfast at the Hotel Relais "Antica Masseria" and your transfer to the second accommodation of this trip in the evening.

In the morning, you will reach Polignano a Mare and experience a magnificent boat tour discovering the sea caves. Crystal-clear waters and rocks carved by impressive cavities, sculpted by the sea, are the hallmarks of Polignano a Mare, known as the "Pearl of the Adriatic."

Afterwards, you will enjoy an aperitif based on traditional Apulian specialties at a typical restaurant.

Lunch is free.

After lunch is time for relaxation and shopping. Birthplace of the singer Domenico Modugno, become famous with his "In blu dipinto di blu", Polignano fascinates with its historic center rich in Arab, Byzantine, Spanish and Norman traces, as the remains of four towers of defense that surrounded the ancient part of the town.

At the end of the day, you will reach the "Masseria Bosco" or similar for overnight. You will be welcomed with a wine tasting of own production and traditional products.

DAY 5:

After breakfast in the farm you will leave for Cursi for a journey into the womb of the earth, inside an ancient underground mill entirely dug by hand and dating back to 1600, well preserved and first case of innovative technological restoration. You will immerse yourself in the hypogeous atmosphere, illuminated by oil lanterns recovered on site and reproduced according to the ancient rule of art, you will wear VR goggles to live an "immersive" experience.

A special cultural moment, where technology is linked to the history of our land and returns the taste of sacrifice and hard work at the basis of the most important economic activity of the Salento in the past, the production and trade of lampante oil.

Followed by a tasting in the garden, based on typical products and excellent local wine.

The morning will end with a pleasant walk in the nearby quarry of leccese stone, very ductile limestone and with exceptional peculiarities: it is soft and easy to work, and for this is the mother of the Baroque lecce.

In the afternoon you will reach Gallipoli for a guided tour of the historic center. The old village, perched on an island of limestone origin, is connected to the mainland and the new city by a bridge with arches of the twentieth century, recently flanked by another bridge towards the port. The walls, ramparts and towers that once protected the city from invaders, today protect it from the storms giving it a charm of yesteryear.

At the authentic fish market, located in the original moat of the imposing castle, you will taste an appetizing aperitif made with fresh seafood, accompanied by a good glass of prosecco.

DAY 6:

After breakfast in the masseria your destination of the day is Otranto. Starting from the Porta Alfonsina, one of the oldest gates in the city, you will experience a guided bike tour to discover the Otrantino hinterland, the best preserved part of Salento.

Going up the Idro valley, you will visit an ancient Byzantine crypt, and then stop at the "le Costantine" Foundation where the art of traditional weaving is practiced. You will then cross the "megalithic garden" of Giurdignano, dotted with dolmens and menhirs.

For lunch you will taste local products at one of the best ovens in the province in Specchia Gallone.

In the early afternoon you will reach Porto Badisco, with its calm and quiet bay. After the swim (if time permits), you will return to Otranto, along one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline, with a visit to the lighthouse at the Palascia tip and the bauxite lake.

After returning to the "Masseria Bosco" (or similar), you will have dinner in a farmhouse in the area.

DAY 7:

The day will begin with a hearty breakfast in the farm, which will be followed by a visit to Lecce, the "Florence of the South". You will be met by a certified guide who will tell you about the wonders and the brilliance of the Baroque. Here you can admire Piazza Sant'Oronzo, considered the living room of Lecce, with the Roman Amphitheatre and the harmonious Palazzetto del Sedile, and then the many churches including the Basilica di Santa Croce.

There will be a tasting of pasticciotto and leccese coffee, mixed with almond syrup, at an old pastry in the historic center.

On your return to the "Masseria Bosco" (or similar) you will have a wonderful performance of Salento pizzica.

DAY 8:

Today’s breakfast will be your last in the "Masseria Bosco", then you will leave for the airport of Bari (or Brindisi) for the return.