Slow travel in Italy

14/06/2023

Slow tour in Puglia. We tested if we can fit our small group on a tiny staircase of Cisternino, one of our favourite white towns in Puglia.

22/01/2023

During our small group tours to Puglia the pizzica night with our local friends is one of the highlights. I love this music and really hope I will become a good pizzica dancer one day. Still need to practice. :-)

Anyway, one of my favourite pizzica songs has inspired me to create this Puglia video showing some of my favourite moments of our Puglian tours last October.

Puglia is like nowhere else. Southern, wild, authentic. Passionate and peaceful at the same time. Relaxing in the shade of ancient olive trees or watching th...

13/11/2022

GDPR compliant photo from our small group Puglia tour in October.

23/02/2022

Freshly picked.

12/01/2022

Bougainvillea Christmas tree in Puglia.

15/11/2021

We accidentally stumbled upon this cosy trattoria which turned out to be one of the best in Southern Italy. A wonderful combination of high quality traditional food, a warm atmosphere and great hospitality, run by a family for generations.

They welcomed us and showed us around the trattoria although we did not have time to eat there. To our surprise, they opened a door to a cave-like hole in the wall, which was hiding an amazing variety of aging cheeses, one of the passions of Angelo.

When I asked them about the wines they serve in their trattoria, they opened another door and took us down to a large cellar full of old and valuable wines, a special collection, another passion of Angelo.

The family turned a 16th-century convent into the trattoria 30 years ago. They collaborate with local farmers and producers, using only the best quality vegetables, olive oils, meat, bread or pasta in their kitchen.

They are a benchmark in slow food and an experience we can't miss on our slow Puglia tour next summer.

27/07/2021

Black cat in the white city.

11/07/2021

Forza Azzurri!

🇮🇹 Clima pre partita…

29/06/2021

We were swimming at Torre Pozzelle when I spotted this group of teenage boys. They reminded me of the boys in Tornatore's beautiful movie, Malena. They just had their bikes, a ball and the towels around their necks.

Friends, bikes and the sea. Maybe they don't even realize how lucky they are. I wish all teenage boys could spend their afternoons like this, instead of computer games.

24/06/2021

We arrived at Castiglione d'Otranto in the evening, a Puglian village with 1200 residents. We were looking for our B&B we had booked for one night, and also had to pick up some bread. Although the village is not often mentioned in guidebooks, it has a beautiful historical center, a good restaurant, a bar and a supermarket.

When we stopped at the supermarket, the owner was just turning off the lights and closing the door. It was 8.30PM. When we told him we needed a few things for dinner, he opened the door, invited us into the shop, turned on the cash register and let us do our shopping. That's how we met Antonello.

Instead of one night we ended up spontaneously spending four nights in the village, and we went to Antonello's supermarket every single day. He greeted us with a big smile as if we were long time friends. We had great conversations with him about things to see in the area, he also recommended us local cheeses and an agriturismo.

Meeting local people is such an essential part of slow travel.

If you are driving around Salento, pick up some groceries at Antonello's shop, the Supermercato Ingletto in Castiglione d'Otranto. Just because he is a nice man.

22/06/2021

Monopoli. My favourite harbour in Puglia, a real gem. Travellers haven't really returned yet and it was also siesta time, so we had the harbour all for ourselves. A touching moment to be back here after this long period without travel.

21/06/2021

Swim. Read. Sleep. Repeat.

20/06/2021

Puglia awaits you with over 800 kms of varied coastline. Sandy and rocky beaches, hidden bays, swimming holes, caves and rock formations. June is one of the best times to enjoy Puglia, with bright blue sky, pleasant sea temperature and few people.

If you also prefer quiet beaches, avoid July and August. Instead, travel in June, September or October, and you'll mainly meet local people going for an afternoon swim.

15/06/2021

Travelling slow also means going with the flow, being flexible and leaving room for the unexpected. We arrived in Puglia with a roughly planned itinerary for our road trip, but already the first day it became clear that nothing will happen as planned.

We spent the first night in the home of a really cute elderly gentleman, Leo, who rents one of his rooms to travellers. A real southern Italian experience.

After having breakfast in the local bar and picking up some fruits at the weekly market (really cheap), we spent most of the day wandering around the white streets of Ceglie Messapica, a town you don't really find in guidebooks or on travel agency websites.

It's a shame as Ceglie Messapica is one of the most ancient hilltop towns in Puglia, with a bright white historic center, a somewhat Moorish style, the best restaurant of the region and an absolutely local vibe.

14/06/2021

Night at the masseria.

The masseria is a fortified country house, which used to be a farm, but now functions as a home or a boutique accommodation. For an authentic Puglian experience stay at a masseria immersed in the Puglian countryside.

13/06/2021

Ladies making orecchiette, the signature pasta from Puglia, in Bari Vecchia. It's been made strictly by hand since the 12th century, mothers teaching daughters how to make it. The ladies basically live on the street, in front of their tiny apartments, with open doors, making and selling pasta all day long.

13/06/2021

Starting our Puglia road trip with a gelato al limone in Bari. Feeling like in an Italian movie from the 70s.

09/06/2021

All you need to do is bring a good book. We'll take care of the rest.

https://italy-slowtravel.com/en

09/06/2021

Couldn't agree more!

https://italy-slowtravel.com/en/slow-travel-in-italy

09/06/2021

If you go to Pisa, make sure you don't miss Lucca, which is a real gem and only 30 minutes away. Our suggestion is to rent a bike and cycle around the Renaissance town wall. You can also pedal around the narrow streets and piazzas during siesta time, when it is really quiet.

https://italy-slowtravel.com/en/destinations/tuscany/lucca

09/06/2021

Which place do you prefer? If - just like us - you prefer quiet medieval streets over crowded tourist hotspots, follow our page and discover under-the-radar Italy with us.

https://italy-slowtravel.com/en

09/06/2021

Procida, our favourite island in Italy, has been named Italy's Capital of Culture for 2022. A tiny Mediterranean island with a real southern Italian vibe and happy colours.

For lot of useful information about Procida and accommodation options, please visit our website.
https://italy-slowtravel.com/en/destinations/procida