Southern Italy

Mezzogiorno is what the Italians call the southern part of their country. It’s the part of Italy that was part of Magna Graecia, the ancient Greek empire, in the eighth and seventh centuries BCE. The part associated with countryside, olive groves, vineyards, and the world-famous Amalfi Coast. It’s also the part where prosperity has lagged behind the richer north of Italy and which is struggling with a declining population. And the Italy where ‘slow living’ is the norm and food is the true religion. At least, that is the perception. During a two-week road trip, we visit three regions in southern Italy – Campania, Basilicata, and Puglia – to discover this for ourselves.

The journey starts slightly differently than planned. The intention was to fly to Naples via Munich with Lufthansa. However, due to a Lufthansa staff strike, all flights have been cancelled. Instead, the outbound journey is with KLM, involving a long layover in Paris. As a result, we don’t land at Naples-Capodichino International Airport until around 6:30 p.m. Once landed, it’s just over ten minutes on the Alibus airport shuttle to Piazza Garibaldi, in the center of Naples, and from there a few minutes’ walk to our accommodation.

Itinerary

Naples – Herculaneum – Pompeii – Sorrento – Positano – Amalfi – Salerno – Paestum – Gravina in Puglia – Matera – Lecce – Alberobello – Cisternino – Ostuni – Bari – Rionero in Vulture

Naples

Naples (Napoli in Italian), with approximately one million inhabitants, is the third largest city in Italy. According to the Italians, Rome is the heart of the country, and Naples the soul. Also worth noting: Naples is the birthplace of pizza. The city is situated on the Gulf of Naples, part of the Tyrrhenian Sea, on the west coast of the Italian boot-shaped peninsula. In 474 BCE, the Greeks founded a city here named Neapolis. Present-day Naples was literally built on top of the remains of that ancient Neapolis.

We have two days to explore Naples. After starting the day the Italian way, with coffee and a croissant at one of the many coffee bars, on our first day we visit the city’s historic center, the Centro Storico, which is entirely on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The weather is lovely, sunny and not too hot, and the city is pleasantly busy. The traffic is, Italian-style, slightly chaotic. Virtually every car in Naples is dented and scratched; not a single car seems to make it through Neapolitan traffic unscathed.

The old center of Naples consists of narrow streets, regularly punctuated by small squares, often featuring a church or monument to some saint, or both. The old buildings have pastel-colored plastered facades, with wooden shutters and small balconies where, in many places, laundry is hung out to dry. Coffee bars are everywhere, with display cases containing Neapolitan delicacies such as sfogliatella, pagnottiello, taralli, and cannoli. And there are a great many churches…

On the east side of the Centro Storico stands the Porta Capuana, a city gate from the fifteenth century and one of the few remaining sections of the old city wall. The gate consists of two robust round defensive towers with a marble gate in between. Two streets run through the old center from east to west: the Via de Tribunali and the Spaccanapoli. From Port Capuana, we walk along Via dei Tribunali, which is incredibly busy, mainly with tourists. Where the street crosses Via Duomo, stands, not surprisingly, the Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta, a Gothic cathedral from the thirteenth century CE.

At the end of Via dei Tribunali, we arrive at Piazza Bellini (with, naturally, a statue of the composer Vincenzo Bellini). The square is surrounded by seventeenth-century city palaces. In the center of the square, the remains of the western city wall of the ancient Greek city of Neapolis can be seen, which were discovered beneath the square in the twentieth century.

From Piazza Bellini, Via Port d’Alba, a small street with many bookstores, runs under the Port d’Alba (which is currently under scaffolding) and emerges at Piazza Dante. This large square is dominated on the east side by the curved facade of the Foro Carolino, built in the eighteenth century, with the clock tower Orologio Equazione Del Tempo in the center. In the center of the square stands a statue of Dante Alighieri, the famous poet after whom the square is named. We walk back via the Spaccanapoli. This is actually not a single street, but a series of three consecutive streets, each with its own name, but known as Spaccanapoli. Along the way, we pass the Ospedale delle Babbole, among other things, a somewhat odd doll hospital that has existed since 1895.

In the afternoon, we take part in a tour of Napoli Sotterranea, a 1.5-hour tour of underground water reservoirs in the middle of Naples’ old center. The reservoirs were originally built by the Greeks to supply water to what was then Neapolis. They served as a water supply for the city for centuries and were only drained after a cholera epidemic in the late nineteenth century. During the Second World War, the underground reservoirs were used as air raid shelters. The tour takes us past various large underground chambers that were once filled with water and are connected by extremely narrow tunnels that you can barely fit through (and you shouldn’t suffer from claustrophobia). At the end of the tour, we also visit the remains of an ancient Greek theater from the time of Neapolis, which were found under a house at the end of the last century.

On our second day in Naples, it’s slightly less sunny, but nonetheless fine weather for exploring the rest of the city. After coffee at the same coffee bar as on day one, we walk down Corso Umberto I towards the Quartieri Spagnoli. According to the travel guide, the Toledo metro station is supposed to be “one of the most beautiful metro stations in the world,” but it absolutely does not live up to that expectation; it’s just a metro station like many others.

We continue our route along Via Toledo to the Galleria Umberto I, a covered shopping arcade built between 1887 and 1891, modeled after the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. The stately shopping gallery features a mosaic floor and a high glass dome with a diameter of no less than 56 meters. Next to the Galleria Umberto I stands the Teatro San Carlo, opened in 1737 and thus the oldest opera house in the world still in use. Although it is no longer exactly the building from 1737, as that was partially destroyed by fire in 1816, rebuilt, bombed during the Second World War, and rebuilt again.

Via Piazza Trieste e Trento, you walk onto the large square Piazza del Plebiscito. The square is dominated on the southwest side by the long curved colonnade of the nineteenth-century Chiesa San Francesco di Paola. Directly opposite, on the northeast side of the square, stands the seventeenth-century Royal Palace. Part of the reddish-brown facade are statues of Neapolitan rulers from the twelfth to the nineteenth century, when Naples was a city-state.

On Via Toledo, you will find the station of the Funicular Centrale, which takes you to Piazza Fuga in a few minutes, in the elevated district of Quartieri Vomero. From the funicular’s terminal station, it’s a few minutes’ walk to Castel Sant’Elmo. This medieval fortress, with imposing ramparts that are both thick and high, was used as a prison until the 1970s. There isn’t much remarkable to see inside the ramparts, but Castel Sant’Elmo is a must-stop if you are in Naples because of the fantastic panoramic view of the city, the Gulf of Naples, and Mount Vesuvius.

Back at sea level, we walk along the Lungomare, the waterside promenade of the Gulf of Naples. On a Sunday afternoon, it’s so crowded and touristy that you actually no longer feel like you are in Naples at all. The only sight worth seeing here (if you don’t like busy boulevards) is the Castel dell’Ovo (literally: Egg Castle), originally a monastery, built in the twelfth century and subsequently used as a fort and a prison.

Herculaneum & Pompeii

On August 24 of the year 79 CE, the volcano Vesuvius erupted. Just fifteen minutes later, the city of Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum were buried under a thick layer of lava, rock, and ash, which was blown up to fourteen kilometers high into the atmosphere by Vesuvius. Approximately 2,000 of Pompeii’s 20,000 inhabitants perished, while an estimated 300 victims fell in Herculaneum. For 1,700 years, Pompeii and Herculaneum remained buried under the debris of the eruption. It was not until the eighteenth century that the excavation of the ruins and the remains of the victims began. Mount Vesuvius, 1,281 meters high, with a crater measuring 450 meters in diameter, is still an active volcano; the last eruption was in 1944. Today, approximately 600,000 people live in the so-called ‘red zone,’ the area that will be buried under lava, rock, and ash once again in the event of a new eruption of Vesuvius.

On Monday, we visit Herculaneum and Pompeii on a day trip by train from Naples. Early in the morning, we take the Circumvesuviana from Porta Nolana station to Ercolano Scavi and report to the archaeological site the moment they open. The great advantage of this is that there is virtually no one else around when we visit the ruins.

We walk along the centuries-old cobblestone streets. Of many houses, only the walls remain standing; others have withstood the ordeal better. Such as, for example, Casa del Tramezzo di Legno and La Casa Sannitica from the second century BCE; that house was therefore already three hundred years old when Herculaneum was buried under lava.

In some houses, wall paintings and mosaics can still be seen, such as in the Casa di Nettuno e Anfitfrite, so named because a beautiful mosaic of the god Neptune and his wife has been preserved there. In the Collegio degli Augustali, built in the first century BCE, frescoes can still be seen on the walls, and in the Casa dello Scheletro you will also find well-preserved frescoes and mosaic floors. In the courtyard of this house, a well-preserved altar can also be seen, probably in honor of the god Dionysus.

On the outskirts of Herculaneum, you will find L’Antica Spiaggia, boathouses that were located on the coast at the time. During excavations here, three hundred skeletons were found of inhabitants of Herculaneum who had tried in vain to flee.

After Herculaneum, we take the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii. The world-famous Pompeii is much larger than Herculaneum, and it is also harder to find your way around. And it is incredibly crowded; the streets of ancient Pompeii are teeming with tourists; it looks and feels like an amusement park. Unfortunately, the sheer number of people detracts from the experience you expect from a visit to Pompeii.

We start at the ancient Roman Amphitheater, where gladiatorial combats were held. The amphitheater, which had 20,000 seats, was built in 70 BCE, making it the oldest known Roman amphitheater in the world.

In Pompeii, too, the old cobblestone streets have been preserved, and mainly walls and pillars remain standing. Not everything is accessible, however. The Casa dei Casti Amanti is; this was the house of a baker, where the oven and grain mill have been preserved. The Thermopoleum di Vetutius Placidus is referred to as an “ancient snack bar”; A kitchen can be seen featuring a kind of ‘bar’ where hot dishes and drinks were served. Drinks were poured from large terracotta jugs, which are still on display. The room has walls decorated with frescoes. Funnily enough, Pompeii’s brothel has also been preserved, with small rooms containing only a bed.

The theater on the southwest side of Pompeii, built in the first century BCE, is unfortunately not accessible. We end at the Foro, Pompeii’s central square and the heart of the city’s political and economic life. On the northeast side of the forum stand the remains of the Macellum, the market hall. On the other side of the forum stands the Basilica, built in the second century BCE, which, contrary to what the name suggests, was not a church but a courthouse and center of commerce. On this side of the forum, you will also find the remains of the Temple of Apollo, built in 120 BCE, naturally in honor of the god Apollo.

Sorrento

On Tuesday morning, we pick up our rental car and leave Naples. We have to be very careful and drive somewhat cautiously, because Southern Italians, whether by car, scooter, or motorcycle, drive quite recklessly wherever they see a gap, and traffic rules don’t really seem to exist.

South of Naples, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, lies the Sorrento peninsula. As soon as you leave the Autostrada, you drive along the SS145, the two-lane coastal road that runs along the northern coast of the Sorrento peninsula. The town of Sorrento (Sorrentum during the time of the Roman Empire), about an hour and a half’s drive from Naples, has about 15,000 inhabitants and overlooks the Bay of Naples, with Mount Vesuvius in the distance.

The weather is sunny as we walk from our B&B to the historic center of Sorrento. Lemon trees stand everywhere; Sorrento is the birthplace of limoncello. On the outskirts of the center, we pass the Vallone dei Mulini, the Valley of the Mills, a deep gorge with the overgrown ruins of an old grain mill at the bottom. A little further on lies Piazza Tasso, a lively square in the heart of Sorrento, surrounded by pastel-colored buildings.

On Via Fuoro, we pass a gray dome named Sedile Dominova, featuring 14th-century frescoes. In the Middle Ages, the Sedile Dominova was a meeting place for the local nobility. After lunch on one of the many bustling terraces, we continue walking through the old center, via the courtyard of the Chiostro di San Francesco, to the Villa Communale park, which sits atop a cliff overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, the small beaches below, and the marina. Via a number of narrow streets, we arrive at the Punto Panoramico, overlooking the Marina Grande and the buildings constructed against the steep cliffs.

Sorrento is an atmospheric, albeit somewhat touristy, town, which will prove to be true for more places we visit during this trip, starting with the Amalfi Coast.

Amalfi Coast

On Wednesday morning, we leave Sorrento and drive to the other side of the Sorrento peninsula. Here, the coastal road SS163 runs along one of the most famous coastlines in the world: the Costiera Amalfitana, or the Amalfi Coast. The Amalfi Coast lies on the Gulf of Salerno and stretches from the village of Nerano in the west to Vietri sul Mare in the east. The SS163 is a narrow two-lane road where traffic can often barely pass each other. During the high season, the road often grinds to a complete halt, as it is not designed for hundreds of thousands of tourists. The fact that locals simply park their cars along the narrow road doesn’t exactly help either.

The Amalfi Coast, of which almost everyone has seen photos, is also a stunning coastline in real life. Limestone cliffs tower high above the azure waters of the Gulf of Salerno, with the Monti Lattari, the Lattari Mountains, behind them. The entire Amalfi Coast has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997.

Parking is generally a nightmare in Positano, one of the most visited towns on the Amalfi Coast. Cars are parked for kilometers along the access road before reaching the town center, and most spots are reserved for residents. We therefore park the car in the (somewhat cramped) Liparlati parking garage (tip!) and walk from there into the largely car-free streets of Positano.

Positano (which has just under 4,000 inhabitants) is the most beautiful town on the Amalfi Coast. It’s built against the cliffs, and from the higher parts, for example along Via Cristoforo Colombo, you have a fantastic view of the colorful buildings, which seem to hang from the rocks. Narrow streets zigzag down towards the beach and the harbor. However, those streets are very tourist-oriented and are full of souvenir shops and tourist restaurants. At the foot of Positano lies a small beach, Marina Grande, with dark grey sand. This is also where the harbor is located, from where boats depart for Amalfi, Salerno, and Naples. The buildings, with the green-yellow tiled dome of the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta in the center, appear to rise almost vertically.

After exploring Positano, we take the boat to the town of Amalfi, situated a little further along the coast. During the 25-minute crossing, you have a magnificent view of the Amalfi Coast and can see mountains and steep limestone cliffs from the water.

Amalfi (approximately 5,400 inhabitants) is just as touristy as Positano. The main street, Via Lorenzo d’Amalfi, is full of souvenir shops and restaurants. Actually, it’s primarily the view of Amalfi from the water and the piers that is worthwhile. On the small square by the harbor stands a statue of Flavio Gioia (who is said to be the inventor of the compass, although this is doubted).

In the course of the afternoon, we take the boat back to Positano. From there, we drive along the coastal road and the hairpin bends of the SS366 to Bomerano, a small village high above the Amalfi Coast, at over 600 meters above sea level. This is where we spend the night.

Bomerano is the starting point of the Sentiero degli Dei, the Path of the Gods, a beautiful hiking trail along the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast, high above the azure waters of the Gulf of Salerno. The weather is good for hiking when we go for a walk here the next morning, a mix of sun and clouds and about 18-19 degrees. The path goes up and down a bit here and there, but is very manageable. Along the way, you have a magnificent view of the high limestone cliffs and the sea, a view that changes after every cliff. The Sentiero degli Dei runs all the way to Positano, but we are not going that far. We turn around halfway and walk back to Bomerano.

Salerno & Paestum

On Friday morning, we first drive back down from Bomerano to the coastal road, and then the final section of the SS163 along the Amalfi Coast, which ends at Vietri sul Mare. This section is also narrow and winding, meaning it takes an hour to cover a distance of 22 kilometers.

We leave the Amalfi Coast behind and arrive at the port city of Salerno. We park the rental car in the remarkably spacious and modern Libertà parking garage (tip!) and walk into the Centro Storico, the historic center of the city. Salerno is a medium-sized city of about 130,000 inhabitants. Along the water of the Gulf of Salerno runs the Lungomare, a 1.5 km long promenade with palm trees and benches, a nice spot to relax. In the background, the medieval Castello di Arechi towers high above the city.

The center of Salerno consists of photogenic narrow streets and alleys, such as Via Mercanti, Vicolo Cassavecchia, and Vicolo Adelberga. What immediately stands out is that, unlike Naples, you won’t find throngs of tourists here. The Cathedral of Salerno, the Duomo, was built in the twelfth century and features a 52-meter-high bell tower. The Porta dei Leoni provides access to a beautiful courtyard, where you can see Arabic influences in the architectural style.

Via the Largo Plebiscito, we walk to a medieval aqueduct, locally known as the Archi dei Diavoli (Devil’s Archs), built to supply the city with water. At the end of our walk through Salerno, we pass the Porta Nova, built in the eighteenth century and the only historic city gate of Salerno that is still standing.

Just under an hour’s drive south of Salerno (because the speed limit is 50 km/h everywhere) is the town of Paestum. A large part of Southern Italy once belonged to Greece, which is why you can find ancient Greek temples in Paestum, then called Poseidonia. We are the first visitors on Saturday morning, just after half past eight (the tour buses arrive as we are leaving).

Of most of the houses in Paestum, as well as the modest amphitheater, little remains but the foundations. But three remarkable temples still stand partially upright: the Tempio di Atena from the sixth century BCE, dedicated to the goddess Athena; the Basilica, dedicated to the goddess Hera, also from the sixth century BCE; and the Tempio di Nettuno, built around 460 BCE. The latter is the largest temple in Paestum and one of the best-preserved temples from Greek antiquity. It’s also the most impressive temple in Paestum, especially when standing among the huge Doric columns.

Gravina in Puglia

After our visit to Paestum, we drive for about 2.5 hours from the Campania region on the west coast of the Italian ‘boot’, through the Basilicata region, to the Puglia region on the east side of the country. The route partially follows the Autostrada and local two-lane roads that wind through a slightly hilly landscape that is otherwise not very exciting. Our destination today is the town of Gravina in Puglia. The weather is beautifully sunny as we park our rental car at the B&B and walk into the historic center of Gravina.

Gravina in Puglia (the Romans called it Silvium) was founded in the eighth or seventh century BCE, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Southern Italy. Gravina is often skipped by tourists in favor of the more famous Matera; as a result, the historic center of Gravina is remarkably quiet, allowing you to leisurely explore the countless narrow streets with stairs, centuries-old houses, and photogenic vistas. In the heart of the old town lies Piazza Benedetto XIII. Gravina is situated, as the name suggests, by a deep gorge (gravina means gorge or ravine in Italian). On the edge of the gorge stands the Cathedral of Gravina, built in the eleventh century. From the viewpoint next to the cathedral, you have a beautiful view of the gorge.

On the other side of the historic center, the gorge is spanned by the Ponte Acquedotto sul Tornaire Gravina. The bridge was built in the seventeenth century as an aqueduct to supply Gravina with water. In 1722, the aqueduct collapsed after an earthquake, but it was soon rebuilt, this time as a bridge. On the other side of the bridge (now Botromagno Archaeological Park) was the cave church Madonna della Stella, carved into the rocks, whose bell tower still stands. From this side of the gorge, you have a magnificent view of the skyline of Gravina and the surroundings of the picturesque town.

Matera

Our next destination on this tour, Matera, is located a half-hour drive south of Gravina, but unlike Gravina, it is not in the Puglia region, but in Basilicata. Matera is also known as ‘la città sotterana’, the underground city, and is reportedly one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe. In the old part of Matera, you will find hundreds of so-called ‘sassi’, cave dwellings that the inhabitants carved out of the rocks centuries ago. The ‘sassi’ consist of two parts: the northern Sassi Barisano and the southern Sassi Caveoso.

Matera’s heyday was in the Middle Ages; after that, the city fell into decline. However, the cave dwellings were inhabited until the 1950s, but living conditions were poor. People and animals often lived in a single space. Following a forced relocation and renovation, Matera has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1993. Via Via Ridola, we first arrive at Piazetta Pascoli, a small square with terraces and the Palazzo Lanfranchi (now a museum). In many places in Matera, you will find viewpoints with beautiful views of the old city; here, that is the Belvedere Piazetta Pascoli, where you have an amazing view of Sassi Barisano. A little further on lies Piazza Vittorio Veneto, a large square with cafes and restaurants, which is bustling with tourists. At Piazza Vittorio Veneto is the Belvedere Luigi Guerricchio; here too, you have a great view of Sassi Barisano.

Via delle Beccherie slopes gradually upwards towards the 13th-century cathedral, the Duomo. Piazza Duomo in front of the cathedral also offers a beautiful view of the Sassi. Next, we descend via the stairs to the lower, narrow streets of the Sassi Barisano, where you can wander around endlessly. Small restaurants, B&Bs, and shops can be found everywhere. The streets are very photogenic; a new perspective opens up around every corner.

We walk past the cave church Piazza San Pietro Barisano, among others. Hidden behind the facade with its bell tower is a church that was carved entirely out of the rock in the eleventh century. Next, we walk down the Via Madonna delle Virtù, which runs along the eastern side of the old city wall beside the gorge, offering panoramic views of the gorge and the surrounding area. From the viewpoint at the cave church Madonna de Idris, you also have a beautiful view of the Sassi Caveoso and the gorge.

Lecce

On Monday morning, we return to the Puglia region. In just under 2.5 hours, we drive from Matera to Lecce, deep in the ‘heel of the boot’. We park the car at the B&B and walk into the city’s old center. Lecce is located in the Salento region and has approximately 90,000 inhabitants. Originally a Greek city, it was founded in the seventh century BCE, when the south of what is now Italy was still part of Magna Graecia.

Lecce is a beautiful historic city with fine city palaces and countless churches from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many of them designed in the richly decorated Baroque architecture and constructed from the characteristic white-yellow sandstone. The facades, as well as the balconies and streetlights, everything in the historic center is richly decorated. Lecce is also a pleasant city, with countless cafes and restaurants with terraces along charming streets and atmospheric squares. There are tourists, but nowhere near as many as in Naples or Matera, for example.

We walk past, among other places, the Piazza Vittorio Emanuelle II (with a statue of its namesake), the city palaces of wealthy families like Morisco d’Arpe, Adorno, and Guarini, and the Piazetta Castromediano Sigismundo. In the middle of the city, on the Piazza Sant’Oronzo, lie the remains of a Roman amphitheater (the Anfiteatro Romano di Lecce), built in the second century CE. A little further on lie the remains of another, small amphitheater, somewhat confusingly called the Teatro Romano di Lecce.

The almost entirely enclosed Piazza del Duomo is an impressive square, featuring the 17th-century Cattedrale di Lecce and its seventy-meter-high bell tower, the Palazzo Arcivescovile, and the Palazzo del Seminario, all built in the Baroque style. The Basilica di Santa Croce was also built in the seventeenth century, and the exuberant Baroque style with its numerous statues and ornaments is somewhat over the top here. Next, we walk via the Palazzo dei Celestini to the Giardini Pubblici Giuseppe Garibaldi, a modest green park with benches, a fountain, and statues of famous Italians. A nice place to relax for a moment.

On the way back, we walk past the Porta Napoli, one of the three sixteenth-century city gates that provided access to Lecce at the time. The Porta Napoli derives its name from the fact that the road to Naples began here. Unfortunately, one of the other city gates, the Porta Rudiae, is under scaffolding while we are in Lecce.

Valle d’Itria and Alberobello

On Tuesday morning, we drive for an hour and a half to the Valle d’Itria, a vast plain (despite the name, it’s formally not a valley) in the heart of the Puglia region. The surroundings here are gently hilly, with olive groves, vineyards, and picturesque villages.

In the Valle d’Itria, we visit the I Pástini vineyard and winery. We are the only visitors. In an hour, we receive a guided tour of the vineyard and winery, an explanation of the history of I Pástini and the exclusively local grapes grown there, and we conclude with a tasting of three white and two red wines.

After the wine tasting, we drive to Alberobello. This town is known for its ‘trulli’, traditional round, white-painted houses with conical roofs made of grey stone. The trulli in Alberobello (and here and there in the area surrounding Alberobello in the Valle d’Itria) are unique and cannot be found anywhere else in the world. They have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1996.

In the Rione Monti district, you will find about a thousand trulli, but this is also the most touristy part of Alberobello. Most of the trulli here have been converted into souvenir shops or B&Bs. In the Aia Piccola district, there are about four hundred trulli that are still largely inhabited. This district is quieter and feels more authentic. Photogenic streets wind through the white houses. On the north side of the district stands the Trulli Sovrano, the only trulli with an upper floor. The trulli make Alberobello a very photogenic town, but it’s also very touristy and therefore feels less authentic.

Cisternino & Ostuni

On Wednesday morning, we first drive to Cisternino, about half an hour from Alberobello. The route leads through the Valle d’Itria, past olive groves and various trulli, which you also see scattered across the landscape outside Alberobello. We therefore stop a few times to take photos.

Cisternino is a small village with approximately 12,000 inhabitants, situated on a hill, with narrow, photogenic streets and a small central square, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, featuring the clock tower Torre dell’Orologio. On the outskirts of the village stands the robust defensive tower Torre di Porta Grande, with, if you look closely, a statue of San Nicola (known in the Netherlands as Sinterklaas) in the upper right corner.

Next, we drive to Ostuni, nicknamed ‘la città blanca’, the white city. Ostuni is called this because almost all the houses and buildings in the town are painted white. Along the Corso Vittorio Emmanuel II, you have a beautiful view of the old town, situated on a hill overlooking the surrounding olive groves and, eight kilometers from Ostuni, the waters of the Adriatic Sea beyond.

The old part of Ostuni consists of a labyrinth of narrow streets with white-painted houses. Piazza delle Libertà is a bustling square with terraces and a tall obelisk featuring a statue of Sant’Oronzo. The Basilica Cathedrale di Santa Maria Assunta is connected to the adjacent Palazzo Vescoville by the Arco Scoppa, the most photographed spot in Ostuni, which is consequently very crowded with tourists. On the outskirts of Ostuni, you can still see parts of the old fortress walls, including the old city gate Porta San Demetrio.

To the north of Ostuni, roughly between Bari and Brindisi, lies the ‘Piana degli Ulivi Monumentali’, or the plain with the monumental olive trees. Reportedly, a million olive trees grow on the plain, of which an estimated 250,000 are hundreds to thousands of years old. We drive across the plain via the local road SP21, where, in addition to younger olive trees, there are also many old ones, recognizable by their thick, strangely shaped trunks.

The day started sunny, but in the course of the afternoon it clouds over and starts to rain. Time to drive to Bari.

Bari

On Thursday morning, we visit Bari, a port city with over 300,000 inhabitants on the east coast of Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. Bari consists of roughly two parts: Bari Vecchia, the old city dating back to the Middle Ages, and the new part, also known as the Murat Quarter. Here you will find the Lungomare, the promenade built in the 1920s, with views of fishing boats and the marina. In the new part, you will also find modern shopping streets, the Teatro Petruzelli, which was destroyed by fire in 1991 and subsequently rebuilt, and the Corso Vittorio Emanuelle II, a wide boulevard lined with tall palm trees.

From this ‘new’ part of the city, we walk to Bari Vecchia. Via Piazza del Ferrarese, we reach the Muraglia, a section of the old city wall, overlooking the waters of the Adriatic Sea. Within the city walls of Bari Vecchia lies a labyrinth of narrow streets. Central to the old town is Piazza Mercantile, originally the market square of old Bari. On the square stands the Palazzo del Sedille, the former seat of the city administration. In a corner of the square, you will find the Colonna Infame or Colonna della Guisticia. The stone pillar with a statue of a lion was reportedly used in the sixteenth century as a pillory for usurers and counterfeiters. Next, we pass the Basilica Pontificia San Nicola. The remains of Saint Nicholas, the namesake of the Dutch children’s fest, are said to lie here.

On the outskirts of Bari Vecchia, near the old city gate Arco Basso, you will find a narrow street nicknamed Strada delle Orecchiette, where Barinese women have been making orecchiette by hand for generations, the type of pasta frequently found on menus in southern Italy. Even today, you can still find ‘pasta grannies’ there making orechiette by hand. Just outside the city gate, on the west side of Bari Vecchia, stands the Castello Normanno-Svevo, a castle from the first half of the twelfth century that, in addition to serving as a defensive structure, also served as a prison, military barracks, and is now an exhibition space. We conclude our visit to Bari here with gelato, because, of course, you cannot have been to Italy without having eaten gelato.

On Thursday afternoon, we drive back to the Basilicata region. First through the hills of Puglia, with vineyards and olive groves, and then through the equally hilly grasslands of Basilicata. Our destination is Rionero in Vulture, a small, sleepy village at the foot of the Vulture volcano. Here we visit Cantine del Notaio, a winery with cellars carved out of the volcanic rocks. The cellars, where the humidity is high, lie below street level, invisible to the casual passerby, and were originally created by Albanians and later used by Franciscan monks to produce wine. At this winery, too, we are the only visitors, so we receive a private tour of the centuries-old cellars, where wine is aging in oak barrels. The tour is followed by a wine tasting featuring four wines and a selection of cheeses, meats, tarelle, and more. Informative and, above all, very tasty.

On Friday, our two-week road trip through southern Italy comes to an end. Although the landscape in this part of Italy might not be as beautiful as that in northern Tuscany, the beautiful and interesting cities and towns, the delicious food and drink, and, with a bit of luck, sunny weather, make southern Italy well worth a visit.