Puglia Report 10/22

How were you transiting between these destinations?

We have a rail pass and there is a single train line from Bari to PaM to Monopoli to Brindisi to Lecce. It seems to frequently be late, and sometimes crowded, but it allows you to transit up and down that corridor fairly easily.

Yesterday, we from PaM to Monopoli. We then had to wait 3 hours for the next train to Bari. We got there and attempted to order the same dishes we liked the day before, but they said the kitchen was closed at 4:30 even as we watched them continue to serve people new food. At that point, we had to wait until 6:18 pm to go back to PaM. Had we stayed until they opened for dinner at 7:30 and finished after 8:30 pm there might have only been one or two trains separating us from getting stranded

To the inland areas - Matera, Alberobello, etc, we hired the brother of the guy renting us an apartment for $150. Its more expensive than renting a car, but no rental fee, insurance, gas, getting lost, potential traffic accidents or tickets, etc. It was really comforting having him ask for directions instead of our very poor quality Italian. Have you noticed that even when you think you are saying something 100% correct, the intonation or something makes them not understand anyway.

We loved our time in Puglia and stayed in Polignano a Mare for ten days in a nice, small hotel.. What a great small city! I did not have the same impression of Lecce at all. We found it to be a beautiful small city. it is filled with Baroque architecture which , perhaps, you did not care for. On the other hand, we did enjoy seeing the trulli houses but the town is over run with tourists so go early or late in the day. Matera was not a favourite due to it's tragic history which coloured the whole visit for me.
We enjoyed Stanley Tucci's segment on Puglia last night on CNN.

Alberobello : Like many tourist attractions its good to go early. It was not too bad at all. And also good tourist attractions are often packed for a reason - they look nice or interesting.

Lecce : We spent several hours in Lecce. There was one main courtyard with one building in particular with a very nice facade. There was another one, maybe a 1/4 mile away, which looked nice but was under construction/renovation so not too photogenic. The Rudyia(?) gate/port was very interesting too. The rest of the inner city and outer city were unremarkable. We had a bad restaurant - and regret not going to another place we saw. The trinket shops were low end. Not much other shopping to speak of. It feels like a town that will blossom in 10 years .. maybe.

The one thing I am not sure about is the museums. I had intended to go to one or more, but circumstances had us leaving sooner than expected. The tourist office offers cooking classes for the Orchietta pasta twice a day a 65 eu a head. Not sure if its just pasta or some sort of meal built around the pasta. Its a little unnecessary since you can buy dried pasta everywhere, and fresh refrigerated pasta in the local supermarkets. There is also a little car-train you can ride around on for 10 eu.

Counterpoint:

I spent ~3 weeks in Puglia in July, based in Nardo' and Valle d'Itria (near Ceglie Messapica). We made day trips to many of the places listed by the OP.

I found Lecce & Ostuni lovely and wished I'd had more time to explore them. The architecture & churches in Lecce were gorgeous.

Matera was astounding, and this is notwithstanding the fact that it was insanely hot the day we went, which limited our ability to trek up & down the hillsides. I would not recommend skipping Matera if you're nearby. It's fascinating and beautiful.

Locorotondo is adorable & charming. We almost skipped Alberobello because we'd read that it's become an overrun tourist trap. But we decided to go and were pleasantly surprised. Yes, it's touristy, but it's unique & worth a half-day.

I also loved Ceglie Messapica, Grottaglie, Otranto & Nardo'. Stopped for a quick swim in Monopoli but didn't explore much. Did not make it to Polignano or Bari.

Granted, I speak Italian pretty well, but I found the Pugliese to be very appreciative of my Italian and not dismissive or difficult at all. The folks we interacted with were generally warm and accommodating.

I would love to go back to Puglia to visit the many places we missed. In the end, I think where you go really depends on your interests.

RailRider, you sure don’t sound like you’re enjoying your trip(s). We were In Puglia in 2019 - Matera, Ostuni, Alberobella, Lecce and then up to Vieste by car before going back to Naples and really enjoyed our time there. We didn’t rush and just slowed down and went with the flow staying a couple of nights or more in most places. It seemed to have less tourists than other parts of Italy.
We know that you can’t see everything in 1 trip or 1 night in a place. Occasionally, we stop in the sun, read a book with an aperitif in hand, a plate of local cheese and meats and watch the world go by in a different culture. We don’t tick off the ‘must see’ places as listed by others. No TV because all channels are Italian but I can log into my home city’s newspaper and see what is happening if I want. No phones as I tell everyone, text or email me if it is important then I will phone you if it’s an emergency. Now it seems I’m spending too much time on RS Forum.
I’m in Casselrotto at the moment and will go back to Rome tomorrow for a few days before flying home. Recently, we seem to be getting 1 fine day then 1 partly rainy day and 1 day partly travelling this last week so when it’s fine, we get out and do something. We don’t put it off until tomorrow, which is probably a good philosophy for us seniors.

why do so many people have to make personal comments or wild suppositions?

We have enjoyed several places and been bored by several other places. One of the reasons I have spent many months in Europe year after year is the many nice discoveries. But some are nicer than others. Everything is not wonderful

Our local guy assured us that Ostuni was amazing and wonderful - our entire group was like "meh .. next" and we were ready to leave in 15 minutes after walking to the top. As one said "We've been to so many beautiful places, and this place is not even in the same category. Perhaps these locals have never been out of Puglia and this is their idea of a nice place".

and almost no one speaks English, nor are there English menus.

Is that a bad thing?

We are all unique individuals aren’t we. Some see just another old church, while others see morning light streaming through stained glass and feel a moment of appreciation. We traveled, via train, for 2 weeks, in Puglia. Each town we stayed in was enjoyable, for its unique experiences. We booked our trains a couple days in advance using the Trinit! App. One train was late, I think it was 4 minutes late. Lecce was so beautiful, walking through the old town at different times of day - sometimes early morning sometimes sunset. We went on a walking food tour - learned much history. The multi church ticket was great for exploring. The Basilica di Santa Croce is amazing. Lecce is also known for its nightly passeggiata - all ages, street musicians, cafes. We also visited Grottaglie- amazing ceramics town. Ostuni was unique - had one of our best meals in Puglia. Monopoli was a beautiful seaside old town. Ended up in Brindisi, to catch the flight home. Puglia is definitely worth visiting.