Holiday Villa Rentals in Puglia

If you have already rented a farmhouse or villa in the northern part of Italy and are looking for something equally fascinating, completely different and much less crowded, then Puglia is a wonderful area to consider.

Puglia, or Apulia as it is called in Italian, is Italy's boot heel, its south eastern most region, bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Gateway to and from the East, it has been conquered by legions of foreign rulers, most of whom were careful to live elsewhere. The notable exception was Frederick II (1194-1250), the last Emperor of the Hohenstaufen line. An enlightened man, he built many castles which still grace the region, along with acres and acres of vineyards and olive groves.

Puglia is a food and wine lover’s paradise as it produces one-tenth of the wine drunk in Europe with the best reds from Salento region; as well as delicious olive oil. Traditionally both of these commodities were mainly used to dilute their finer counterparts up north, but lately the local food artisans have begun creating some first-rate oils and vintages that are available throughout the region. They perfectly complement the super-fresh seafood and vegetables that are the staples of la tavola pugliese. Fish and seafood are abundant and better priced than in other parts of Italy.

A few years ago the ‘glitterati’ from Milan started to descend upon Puglia. This was a turnaround as northern Italians have always had strong reservations about this southern regions wild, sun-scorched land of twisted groves, limestone plateaus and ragged coasts.  It took the opening of some supremely stylish hotels to convince the rest of the country there was more to the place than merely food and oil. As Masseria (fortified farmhouses) began to re-emerge as boutique retreats, snobbery evaporated and Italians flocked south for chic weekends in the sun.  

There is one other attraction that you will see only in Apulia, and that is i trulli. Stay in one of these whitewashed cones made of stones held together without mortar, they are visible in almost every wheat field and olive grove.  The trulli serve as miniature barns and they are unique to the area. Dating from around the 15th century, they’re thought to have been an ancient form of tax evasion: constructed without cement, they could be easily dismantled before the tax-man came to town (thus evading housing duties) and rebuilt once the coast was clear.  

Above all, it is the dramatic and varied natural beauty - including some of Italy’s most spectacular coastline, a 400km-long spur of land jutting into the cobalt Adriatic sea that will leave its impression, as will the warm welcome of the hospitable people of southern Italy perfect for a family summer holiday.

Waves of invaders have washed up in Puglia, each adding something wonderful: there are Greek-style white villages, gaudy Baroque confections built by the Spanish, and even the odd Roman ruin, framed by olive groves and glittering seas.

Puglia offers at least one excellent archaeological museum, a host of cathedrals dating back to the 10th century, several deserted - and thus highly atmospheric - Greek and Roman ruins, a gleaming necklace of lively fishing villages, one of Europe's largest forests, a chain of medieval hill towns, and some of the very cleanest beaches and water in the Mediterranean. It also has its own subspecies of architecture, called barocco leccese. Characterized by extremely ornate carvings that cover the entire surface of churches and palazzi, its apex is reached in the delightful little city of Lecce.

Puglia is served by two airports at Bari and Brindisi and most of the region can be reached from these airports within 1 hours drive.