Can you help me with Puglia?

Lola,
It has been a few years since we went to Puglia but we loved it. We did have a car. Loved Lecce and wish we'd had 3 or 4 nights instead of two, but we were traveling with another couple that liked to move fast. Driving the "heel" was cool. Do try to eat at Cucina Casareccia in Lecce. It is sort of a "speakeasy" in that you have to knock and be let in. (It's in my blog, here https://girovaga.com/2013/05/21/895/.)

My favorite town -- we toured many on a cursory basis -- was Martina Franca but we liked the seaside location of Polignano al Mare. Don't miss Castel del Monte, a Castle built by Emperor Frederico II in the 13th century. Well worth a visit as there is no castle like it anywhere on earth.

I was not the driver but I do seem to recall ZTLs.

Thank you, Laurel! There is a photo of Castel del Monte in my book and I got that “I want to go there”” feeling, so I am glad you validated that. We won’t miss it.

And I will make it 4 nights in Lecce.

The train from Venice to Ravenna takes you through Padua, Ferrara, Bologna, and Faenza. Of the four, Padua is our favorite, but it's so close to Venice maybe you'd rather travel farther? The ceramics museum is Faenza is great. The only town we've stayed at between Ravenna and Bari by train is Trani which we enjoyed very much. Between Bari and Lecce, there is Ostuni where we spent a very happy week staying in the oldest part of town, but I'm pretty sure the train doesn't stop in Ostuni. Do drive there and maybe stay there when you have the car --- so many wonderful places to eat in Ostuni.

Visit Alberobello for about two hours --- the half of the town that is heavily touristed in summer shouldn't be too bad in March, although all the tourist shops that line just about every street will be spilling their wares out into the streets and (from my point of view) rather spoiling every view and photograph. Walk around the other half of Alberobello (across the road) and also look at the touristed half from there --- it looks better from a distance.

Just driving around the area, you'll see trulli scattered around and it's fun to get out of the car and check out the ruined ones. You can rent a trullo or you can stay in one at a masseria B&B --- we loved staying at Masseria Aprile.

We were last in Puglia in late March and early April and the weather was perfect.

Does a flight that suits you leave from Brindisi or Bari airports? Both nice small airports.

Yes, every town has ZTLs --- just park outside them and walk in. Do not fret that towns have perhaps unappealing outskirts around their historic centers.

The exteriors of the Romanesque churches are one of our favorite things to see in Italy --- many towns in Puglia have such a church.

I'm going to suggest a visit to Otranto on the eastern coast. An easy drive from Lecce. Very pretty.

Alberobello is good for a couple of hours to see the Truli.

Lecce is wonderful. Gallipoli has already been mentioned.

Thank you, Nancy and Frank II. This is just what I am looking for! I willmadd Otranto to our "driving list", and plan on a short stop at Alberobello but not an overnight. I will check out Masseria Aprile.

According to deutschebahn, the local train stops at Ostuni, but Inwillmconfirm that with Italian sources before booking an overnight there.

As for airports, up til yesterday I was planning to fly out of Bari, based on seeing the flights on the British Airways schedule. But it turns out those flights, as well as to/from Brindisi, are seasonal and do not run in March. Maybe other airlines like Ryanair will have flights, but their schedule for March is not up yet, and in any case I would prefer to avoid them. We can take the direct train from Bari to Caserta, spend the night, and head to Naples airport by taxi from there. Caserta was on our original itinerary for the March 2020 trip we didn't take, so makes a good addition. My husband wants to see the palace, after learning all about it from an Italian travel show he was watching as part of his language study.

The train station in Ostuni is outside of the old town, so you will need to arrange for a driver or check the bus schedule. I would just get the car in Bari to use for all of Puglia.
As you head south from Ravenna to Bari, Senigallia is a fantastic town. I also loved Ascoli Piceno, which is slightly inland.
In March, you should not have any trouble with parking outside the ztls. Matera is actually the one place I would not miss, alas different strokes--the Itria Valley and Salento should have plenty to occupy you, with few crowds in March. I recommend the Blue Guide to get details on what each village has to offer--it might be one church here, one art work there, that kind of thing.
Alberobello has the highest concentration of trulli, and I did not like the shops selling junk myself, but outside of the midday bus tours, it is perfectly fine. The other villages are so close, it really only matters what accommodation you like. Monopoli is close enough to use as a base for this area as well, if you prefer to be right on the sea.

For the Salento, I like Lecce.
There are paths among the Itria valley towns, the easiest to find being one on an aqueduct. Pretty farmland to ramble through!

We used the book "Lonely Planet Puglia & Basilicata" from 2008 which I think is now out of print but still available used.

Down from Ravenna we like the smaller town Pesaro a little down the coast. It has a pedestrian-only downtown and is on the beach.

Lola, below is the (non-pictorial) TR that we created after our Puglian visit four years ago. Maybe it could help? If you play the Kinks hit 'Lola' while reading, then it could possibly answer some of your questions.
Hope it helps.
I am done. The end.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-bella-puglia-plus-basilicata-and-rome

I will just second Trani. We really enjoyed that town and wished we had more time there.

Thank you all so much!!! This is very helpful, especially Gregg's highly evocative trip report. Unfortunately Inwas reading it while working out at the gym, so could not turn on the music, but I will next time.

I have spent the past few days struggling with logistics, after learning that the British Airways flights are seasonal and will not be operating in March. And flights from Naples are not operating every day, according to the flight schedule they have now. I know that is subject to change, but I have come up with an adjusted itinerary that works with the schedule as it exists now. Things are now starting to fall into place, thanks to the help I have received here.

I think I have it worked out, with a preliminary itinerary. I looked at John’s suggestion of Pesaro for our intermediate overnight stop between Venice and Monopoli, and confirmed that the train connections work, with reasonable travel times. So that looks good.

Then to Monopoli for 3 nights in the Albergo Diffuso—-I really like the look of that. It took awhile to find their actual website, instead of offers through third-party sites like booking.com, etc. I apparently had to convince Google that I could read Italian before it would offer that in a search. At least it only appeared after I did some research on the Trenitalia website in Italian.

Then Lecce for 5 nights, probably in the apartment that Gregg liked so much, if it is available. Daytrips TBD but will include Gallipoli and Taranto, and maybe Brindisi. Or maybe we can rent our car at Brindisi; I will have to check. The Hertz office at Lecce is apparently closed, but that may be temporary.

Once we have the car we have 4-5 nights lift to explore inland and enjoy 2-night stays at masserie. I have one recommendation for that—-Masseria April’s as suggested by Nancy—-but am open to others. Then we will return the car at Bari, and make our way to London for the UK portion of our adventure.

The albergo in Monopoli looks great. I am feeling hungry thinking about that town.
We stayed twice in Lecce at Roof Barocco Suites (http://www.roofbaroccosuite.it/en) and it is amazing. It is called a b&b, but they are two separate rooftop apartments (I prefer the loft), and a gourmet breakfast is delivered to your door in a basket--enough to take on your excursions. The first time, we parked in a nearby space with a permit from the owner, the next year they had a close-by parking garage space, which was easier. The host is really lovely.
You may want to visit Otranto as well, and I've heard good things about Galatina--alas, I will have to plan a third trip, as I missed out on pottery shopping in Grottaglie as well!

Charlene from Denver, who used to post here often, recommends a place. I'm taking the liberty of copying one of her replies to someone else and posting it for you, since she hasn't! (Charlene, hope you're well.) "Rent a car when you leave Matera, and drive to a masseria in the Val d'Itria for 5-6 days. We spent 6 days at the beautiful Masseria Montenapoleone near Pezze di Greco. It had a pool, and the weather was still warm enough Oct. 17-23 for us to use it. They also have a wonderful, free communal kitchen for guests to use, stocked with olive oil and other necessities, plus fresh fruit from their orchard. Wonderful breakfasts. We absolutely loved staying here too! From here we drove to Alberobello, Ostuni, Locorotundo and also enjoyed visiting Torre Canne, a small coastal town. There are many masserias in the Val d'Itria, and I highly recommend you stay in one."

Thanks, Janet! Coincidentally, a friend here who is also planning to visit Puglia also recommended the same masseria to me. She is studying Italian so sent this link::

https://www.masseriamontenapoleone.it/masseria-in-puglia/

They were booked there for a week in March 2020 but had to cancel, and said the hosts were very gracious about that. My friends also noted the communal kitchen, and were looking forward to that. It looks like a good location for seeing the Val d'Itria.