Puglis for 7 nights?? too many?

You can absolutely make it work if you are willing to drive a lot. Puglia requires a lot of windshield time. IMHO, the Gargano is out of reach for a day trip. Lecce is doable, but further south will make for a VERY long day. We stayed in Lecce and toured the heel took all day (9:00-16:00 or so). A couple of suggestions: Stay on the water at Polignano a Mare or Trani. At least you'll have beach views, good seafood. Trani is probably a better "central" location, but it makes Lecce an the heel less accessible. Would you be open to splitting your time between Lecce (2 nights) and Trani (5 nights)? You'll do less driving and see more. Can you switch you itinerary, go right to Sorrento, then to Puglia, and end in Rome for 5 nights? Saves you from that dreaded one-night-before-flying.

I assume you're staying in a masseria. If it has a pool, and your main goal is to relax, then 6 or 7 nights might be fine. We stayed at Masseria Montenapoleone just north of Ostuni last October for 5 nights and had a great time. We made a little excursion every day, to Alberobello or Torre Canne or Ostuni. Several lovely afternoons we spent siesta time reading by the pool or exploring the grounds of the masseria. (Pretty much everything in Puglia closes down between 2 and 5 anyway.) I think Lecce may be a bit far for a day trip. Better, I think, to stick to the trulli villages and the coast (Polignano a Mare or Torre Canne or the nature reserve). If you plan to stay in Ostuni the entire time, I would recommend spending a day on a winery tour or bike tour, to break up your time. From Lecce we took a great winery tour with a company called Experience Path -- http://www.experience-path.com/trips_puglia_daily_tours.php After 5 nights we were ready to move on. We went to Lecce for a week, which was a just too long. To see the Salento peninsula, I would have preferred a couple of nights in Gallipoli. It's easier to drive in and out of than Lecce, and is a very picturesque little seaport. You could make this your base and drive the heel of the boot, stopping in Lecce if you'd like (but not during siesta time ... it's truly a ghost town every afternoon). Or you could drive to Matera and spend a night or two, on your way back to Rome. Matera is fascinating. We stayed at Locanda di San Martino, a cave hotel with an underground spa. Wonderful place. Lauren had a good suggestion, if possible, to save all of your days in Rome to the end. Otherwise you have essentially two travel days in a row. But not the end of the world. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Laurel makes a good point about putting Rome at the end of your stay. Also, consider splitting your stay in Puglia into two areas: near the Gargano for a few days (Vieste or somewhere nearby will give you options of visiting the Tremiti Islands as well as some beautiful nature reserves), and closer to the hell for the rest of the time (Ostuni or someplace nearer to Lecce would work). Puglia is a large area.