Puglia. Just saying the name feels like the warmth of a sunbeam on your face. The heel of Italy’s boot is raw, authentic, and effortlessly beautiful, filled with minimalist white villages, olive groves stretching to the horizon, and turquoise seas.

For this guide, we’re focusing on the Valle d’Itria and its little towns, leaving the Salento area and Lecce for another adventure.

In northern Puglia, life moves at its own pace. You’ll see grandmothers sitting in the shade, expertly rolling orecchiette by hand and men, gathering in small clusters outside cafés. There’s a quiet pride in every detail, from the care taken with local ingredients to the way history feels alive in these streets.

This is a land of rich, grassy olive oil, the freshest seafood, and taralli. You can’t leave without trying orecchiette with cime di rapa, letting burrata melt in your mouth or tasting the soft sweetness of tette delle monache.

And yet, Puglia is more than what you see or taste. It’s a feeling, an experience that lingers long after your visit. It invites you to slow down, experience life’s simple pleasures, and lose yourself in its timeless charm.

So pack your favorite linen shirt, sunglasses, and a few good books, and leave the rigid itineraries at home. Puglia isn’t about checking things off a list; it’s an open invitation to wonder. And trust us, it’s one invitation you’ll be glad you accepted.