Travel Guidebook for Southern Italy

The Lonely Planet book "Naples, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast" has a chapter on Salerno and the Cilento, if this is the area you are referring to.

The Lonely Planet Guide Southern Italy is good.
Do you mean the immediate area, just sloth of Salerno, or further afield?

We are planning to tour completely around the bottom of the boot. Right now we are thinking of driving the east coast from Foggia, around the "spur", down the "heel", around the "sole" and back up the west coast. I will check out the Lonely Planet Guide for Southern Italy.
Any suggestions for "must see" places or "must stay" places would be very welcome. Travelling time is not an issue. We will be in Italy for 89 days.

Towns in Puglia close up for most of the afternoon, maybe noon to 4:00pm, even the churches. We spent this time exploring the old town centers before and after lunch, and eating long lunches from 1:00pm to 3:00pm. Always order the house antipasti!

Quite a bit of the coast road is not actually scenic, but you can drive from it to many beaches & coastal towns. Do not be discouraged by the more modern outskirts of towns --- these give no clue as to what the historic center will be like.

What we enjoy about all the Romanesque churches are the sculptures on the exteriors: mermaids, elephants, horses, camels, dragons, strange people, all sorts of creatures!

For Puglia, use the internet for much more detailed information than guidebooks have,

Alberobello --- see both the touristy side & the other side, eat in Noci
Altamura --- famous bread
Bari --- Walk on Strada Arco Alto & Arco Basso to see pasta grannies at work & explore old town generally. Cathedrals.
Ceglie Messapica --- evening piazza was fun, eat
Cisternino --- eat
Gallipoli --- walk on the narrow causeway to old town, then around the perimeter, eat seafood
Grottaglie --- many shops full of ceramics
Lecce --- see church exteriors, many places to eat, Roman ruins in central piazza, many classes & tours offered, a fun town to walk around in & for a home base
Locorotondo --- stay in a wonderful trullo at Masseria Aprile
Monopoli
Montegrosso --- eat at Antichi Sapori
Otranto --- mosaic floor of cathedral (mythical creatures)
Nardò --- nice piazza
Noci --- eat
Ostuni --- several great places to eat, we loved the old center for a home base but parking can be tricky
Polignano a Mare --- beach & views & small medieval center, a half-day trip was enough
Ruvo di Puglia --- Museo Archeologico Nazionale Jatta: great collection of Greek pottery & a 13th-century Romanesque cathedral
Taranto
Trani --- harbor & waterside cathedral, Interesting old town including medieval Jewish section.
Troia --- cathedral

Close to Puglia:
in Molise --- extensive great but untouristed Roman ruins at Atilia Saepinum (we were the only people there)
Matera in Basilicata --- Sasso Barisano & Sasso Caveoso, many places to eat, a little museum full of stuff from old cave-dwelling life.

The Lonely Planet Puglia & Basilicata helped us out a lot in those areas. I think there's a Rough Guide also.

Thanks to Nancy for the great post.

Thanks for the advice. And, Nancy, a BIG thank you for your thoughtful reply.

Southern Italy is a black hole for guides. When we went to Puglia, I imitated Rick Steves early efforts and compiled our own guide but on Google Drive instead of a copy machine. It worked quite well, especially used in conjunction with Google Maps when you are there. For each town of interest I copied and pasted relevant info on each of the attractions and features of interest as well as the source url's. Be sure to give a page break after each town for ease of use. It made it easy to include timely info like a current calendar of events and a list of additional url's that might come in handy for in situ research. For some I included restaurant info so we didn't have to go through the reviews of restaurants a 2nd time. I printed out some of the larger towns for ease of use while walking around. The whole process is a terrific memory aid and you'll be a walking guidebook for your companions - for better or worse.

For areas that get little coverage, I usually search the UK papers like the Guardian, where for example I found articles on the Cilento region. If you can find a Cadogan guide, those are often good even if out of date (just not for use for restaurants and hotels but for basics). The Blue Guides are often excellent for cultural and historical info. Puglia won't be a problem, but Calabria might take more legwork.