Holidays in Puglia, Italy

Nicknamed the heel of Italy, Puglia’s cuisine has been influenced over the centuries by its neighbours and invaders. The Greeks left their mark with fragrant, herb-infused lamb, spit-roasted over a crackling fire. This sun-baked land is scattered with fortified castles and whitewashed trulli, Puglia’s distinctive conical shaped dwellings, and carpeted with a silvery sea of olive groves. It also has an incredibly rich natural larder. The area produces most of the country’s extra virgin olive oil, full-bodied wines and is famous for its intensely flavoured olives, almonds and figs. Other local specialities include orecchiette, an ear-shaped pasta, seafood risotto, fava beans (which are dried and made into a paste) and burrata, a creamy cheese similar to mozzarella.

Sights to savour along with the turquoise sea and long sandy beaches are, the 13th century Swabian castle, the city of Lecce’s glorious Baroque churches, a legacy from the Spanish, and the cathedral in Otranto’s amazing mosaic floor, the work of a 12th-century monk.