Apulia - Puglia
Geography and climate
Puglia is located in the heel of Italy's boot and borders the regions of Basilicata, Campania and Molise. The region is located in the east on the Adriatic Sea and in the southeast on the Ionian Sea. There are six provinces, Foggia (FG), Bari (BA), Taranto (TA), Brindisi (BR), Barletta-Andria-Trani (BT) and Lecce (LE). Here you will find the lovely Trulli, beautiful sandy beaches, olive groves and wheat fields. In Puglia you will find architectural styles inspired by Greek architecture. So you will find many sober white houses or Masserie, usually with a flat roof (terrace) and Trulli, traditional white limestone houses with cone-shaped roofs. Apulia has the longest coastline of Italy: in the North the Gargano area, where the land extends like a spur in the Adriatic Sea, while in the South it sticks out with the boot's heel.
There are three airports in Puglia: Bari, Brindisi and Taranto.
The climate in Puglia is Mediterranean, with warm summers, mild winters and little rain. The average maximum temperatures are around 30 degrees in summer and around 15 degrees in winter.
Except for the northern province of Foggia, Puglia has virtually no risk of major or moderate earthquakes.
Food and drinks
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| Orecchiette |
The Pugliesi are very fond of their "orecchiette", a type of fresh pasta that can be served with different types of sauce, but it is mainly eaten with "cima di rape", a type of vegetable like turnips and broccoli. Orecchiette are made with semolina flour. In the old centre of Bari, you can see women making this handmade pasta. In Puglia people eat a lot of meat, often grilled and well seasoned, such as "bombette", small rolls of pork meat, stuffed with all kinds of different things such as, caciocavallo cheese, truffle, minced meat and all other kinds of stuffing. The bombette are then grilled on long skewers. Also fish dishes are popular. On almost every menu you will find oysters and mussels, and every coastal town offers its local fish soup. "Taralli" is a typical snack from Puglia. It is a kind of loop-shaped crispy cracker. A typical dessert is a kind of pastry filled with custard, which is called pasticciotto.Economy and health
The economy of Puglia is based on two pillars, agriculture and tourism. Puglia is Italy's largest olive oil producer, with production averaging more than 200 million litres per year. Pasta manufacturers all over Italy make their pasta with wheat from Puglia. In terms of wine production, Puglia ranks third in volume, with wines such as the Primitivo di Manduria, Negroamaro and the Salice Salentino. Wine is mainly grown in the southern part of Puglia, in the Salento region. In the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, there are a lot of big factories which produce shoes. Since the 2000s, Puglia has been very popular with tourists from all over the world.
The region of Puglia ranks nicely in the middle at number ten of the crime and theft index, with 3,356 (reported) crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, well below the Italian average of 3,816. The number of reported thefts and thefts in homes was 1,805 per 100,000 inhabitants in Puglia last year, while the figure for the whole of Italy is 2,051.
The health system of Puglia is divided into six "Aziende Sanitarie", as the six provinces of the region. There are five hospitals in the province of Bari, the provinces of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Brindisi and Foggia have three hospitals each, and finally the provinces of Lecce and Taranto each have six hospitals. There are two University hospitals in the region. This is the link to the website of Pugliasalute, the regional healthcare service of Puglia.
Holiday homes
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| Ostuni |
The region of Valle d'Istria in the province of Brindisi, with the "white city" of Ostuni in its center, has become very popular with foreign owners and buyers of country houses in recent years. No less than 570 English people live in the province of Brindisi, of which 159 in Ostuni. You can enjoy a Mediterranean climate here, a short winter, and you can reach the sea in less than thirty minutes by car. Prices are low compared to other popular Italian regions and in the restaurants, you can enjoy delicious southern dishes at reasonable prices. Due to its constantly growing popularity, the tendency is that prices in Puglia are catching up quickly with prices of other Italian touristic regions. The hospitality is also very remarkable.Most beautiful towns and villages
The Ministry of Culture hopes to highlight the lesser-known gems of the peninsula with the guide “The most beautiful villages in Italy”. These are all included in the guide and on the website "I Borghi più Belli d'Italia". In Puglia there are 14 of these beautiful villages.
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| Cisternino |
In the province of Bari you will find Alberobello, Sammichele di Bari and Locorotondo, in Taranto you will find the village of Maruggio and in the province of Brindisi you will find Cisternino. In Foggia there are Alberona, Bovino, Monte Sant'Angelo, Pietramontecorvino, Roseto Valfortore and Vico del Gargano. The province of Lecce has Otranto, Presicce-Acquarica and Specchia.Inland, many medieval villages have been awarded the "orange flag" which is aimed at small villages, who are awarded for excellency in hospitality, environment and tourism. Touring Club Italiano's guide “Bandieri Arancioni” also mentions Biccari (FG), Corigliano D'Otranto (LE), Oria (BR), Orsara di Puglia (FG), Rocchetta Sant'Antonio (FG), Sant'Agata di Puglia (FG) and Troia (FG).
