APULIA - Saracens Normans & Spaniards in Italy’s Deep South

18th - 25th September 2010 with Anthony Earl

Apulia – the heel of Italy - is always a surprise. With more than a hint of the Orient, and areas suggestive of the plains of Thessaly, it offers Norman cathedrals, mysterious castles, strange conical houses, elaborate baroque cities, the huge sheepwalk of the Murge and the backdrop of the wide agricultural plain of the Tavoliere. We shall taste wines like the famous moscato di Trani, and the famous white of Locorotondo, savour fish dishes,wander through almost Arabian white villages, and see the coast where the Italic ends and the Hellenic begins.  It was the preferred kingdom of the Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. We have the feeling that the historic Orient is seeping inwards, and some primitive customs, like the malocchio – the evil eye - linger on. In the seventeenth century, the colonizing Spanish aristocracy left its mark. Many are the theories to explain the design of the whitewashed conical houses of Alberobello. At the furthest tip of Europe, it was once one of Italy’s poorest regions but is now one of its most prosperous, and its advanced agricultural industries supply British supermarkets with high quality produce.
We shall gather regularly for short talks and explanations, often over pre-dinner drinks au choix and although timings are given, a friendly consensus may  cause us to adapt them.

In the Mezzogiorno, the morning finishes soon after midday and life picks up after 4pm – hence we are taking generous times for lunch and begin the days earlier rather than later. Evening meals both in families and in restaurants, rarely get underway before 20.30, and restaurateurs are unwilling to serve any sooner. For many meals, the menu is predominantly fish even over three courses. Please let the tour leader know as soon as possible if you cannot eat fish or if you are vegetarian.