Starting next week (10/30/25), my wife and I be spending four days based near Castellamare di Stabbia (15 min's north of Sorrento), then 2 days in Matera, then four in Martano (20 minutes south of Lecce). We will have a rental car. We'd be grateful for any personal recommendations of (1) farm or winery tours and/or tastings, or (2) small towns/villages worth visiting near those places, or on the routes in between. Thanks!
Posted by
new york
962 posts
Absolutely drive to Tursi; see the historic quarter and have lunch at PALAZZO DEI POETI-from Matera.
From Matera also drive to the abandoned town of CRACCO.
I love Senise peppers, so we also take a drive to the town of Senise to visit a farm where they grow, and to buy some dried "cruschi" peppers.
Posted by
North Italy
620 posts
From Matera, Altamura, Gravina, Montescaglioso, Irsina and Miglionico are all a short drive on quiet roads and the scenery is incredible too
From Martano look at Otranto, Maglie and Galatina:
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2023/11/puglia-in-september-2023-galatina-and.html?m=1
Posted by
19 posts
This has nothing to do with "farms/wineries," but we were several days in Castellamare di Stabbia a few years ago and HIGHLY recommend that you take time to visit one or two of the excavated villas nearby. https://pompeiisites.org/en/stabiae/
We definitely went to Villa San Marco (and maybe also to Villa Arianna) - the experience there was beyond magical! Very few people were there, and we felt so privileged to be so close to history. You can walk within the walls (with frescoes), through the rooms, and out into a central courtyard/atrium. I was awestruck by the floor mosaics, many of which we were allowed to walk on directly - thinking back to the artisans who planned the diverse patterns, the people who cut and laid the stones (slaves?), the people who had walked on the same surfaces 2,000 years ago - very powerful!