Brindisi (Lecce/Alberobello), Italy

A land of orchards & olive trees

The Puglia region of Italy is a well-kept secret that is just leaking out, so now is the time to visit as an insider before the word spreads. It is a land of orchards and endless forests of olive trees. Of baroque towns like Lecce, all warm pink stone embellished by talented and imaginative carvers with fruits and flowers, cherubs and monsters.

In the Middle Ages grand churches were built in Puglia’s distinctive Romanesque style, and the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II had a string of castles erected. Still the most unique attraction is the area around Alberobello, with its clusters of whitewashed trulli, simple stone houses with conical roofs.