Heading south from Otranto, I follow the SP358, the road in Puglia that hugs the coast down to the point of no return in Italy. The howling of crickets and the sound of the breeze out the car window creates an enchanting song. I have always had images in my mind of what the very point of Italy’s boot heel would look like. Almost like my El Dorado, I have high hopes as the path to this Promised Land continues to wind. Tiny coves with beaches only further my excitement. So far removed for any Italy I have known up to this point, I continue to head south, imagining what it would be like to Continue Reading
Locorotondo, Italy Wishes You Were
When you read that the most beautiful village in all of Italy is just a few miles away, you can't fight the urge to go and judge for yourself. Italy crawls with villages that could easily be the most beautiful in all of the country. Locorotondo in the country’s southern Puglia region has the coveted title of one of the borghi piú belli d’Italia, otherwise, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. I had to go and see for myself. Coming up on Locorotondo, my skepticism got the best of me. It didn’t look like much, a city on a hill but not one a pilgrim would write home about to Continue Reading
Alberobello, Italy Wishes You Were Here
In the Puglia region of southern Italy, known as the heel of the country, the town of Alberobello covers in some of Italy's most unique structures. All around Alberobello, witch hat looking homes scatter about, with some adorned in strange Christian and pagan symbols. Driving into the city around dusk, birds circle throughout the sky above as though Hitchcock is here filming his latest thriller. The sky’s color is burnt orange, with hints of deep purple. The screeching birds are not in Alberobello for dramatic effect. Some 1,500 strangely shaped homes set up in town known as trulli. The stone Continue Reading
Castel del Monte in Italy Wishes You Were Here
Driving through olive groves and sun scorched plains, on top of a hill, a fortress breaks up the landscape of Italy’s heel. In the middle of nowhere in the Puglia region of Italy, a lone castle waits, elevated from the common man or woman. This castle is unlike most in Italy, enough that UNSECO gave it its stamp of approval. Castel del Monte makes you work to reach her. A 20-minute walk in the hot Italian sun up to the Castle’s feet doesn’t go without reward. Fredrick II had the castle constructed in 1240. The strange octagonal shape alludes to the idea that the castle could have been some Continue Reading
Otranto, Italy Wishes You Were Here
The town of Otranto rests just before the tip of Italy’s boot heel in the Puglia region. Said to be Italy’s main port to the Orient for nearly 1,000 years, Otranto was fast asleep. Arriving later in the day on an empty stomach, I stumbled upon a restaurant still filled with diners. The owner I assumed, the Italian woman that wore the pants in her relationship with her husband, quickly told me they were closed but they would make me something quickly. As all of the other diners got up and left, I began wondering if I said something wrong or smelled of a long car ride. Regardless, her kindness Continue Reading