Apulia is situated between the Adriatic and the Ionian sea in the East of Southern Italy. Rich in cultural treasures the long-stretched region offers an azure blue ocean, grottos and bays, white sandy beaches and 300 sunny days a year. Considering the long drawn-out history of Apulia the diversity of the land is not surprising. Due to its strategically vital point on the Italian peninsula being also the gate to the eastern Mediterranean it early became one of the centers of Magna Grecia. Romans, Byzantines, Normans, Sarazens, French and Spanish have all left their traces. Also German Emperors adorned this region with cities and monuments. As varied as the cultural landscape of Apulia is also its nature: Blessed with a coastline of 800 kms the region is surrounded by the clearest sea of Italy.The forelands of Gargano rise into the sea with breathtakingly beautiful coastlines. Lying off -coast are the Tremiti Islands, splendid summer destinations, with unspoiled scenery and clear blue seas, gazing across the Adriatic Sea to Croatia.Endless wheat fields wave in the Tavoliere where most of the country's pasta starts life.The Murgia region, highlands formed in the cretaceous age, is the heart of Apulia crowned by the Castel del Monte by Frederic II. In spring the carstic plateaus are sheeted with flowers. In the Apulian hinterland fertile plains vary with carstic scenery - home of the most ancient olive trees. White dry-stone walls encircle cultivated almand- and olive groves of which the trulli stick out their conic roofs. Most of these fairytale little houses are found here and also in Alberobello, the capital of the trulli, which belongs to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. The baroque town of Martina Franca hosts the annual opera festival of the Valle D'Itria.Brindisi with its natural harbor used to be a strategic point between Orient and Occident in ancient times.The "white town" of Ostuni is overlooking the sea and hovering over fields of olive trees. At the heel of the boot of Italy the peninsula of the sun-kissed Salento region streches out between the two seas. Lecce, "the Florence of the South" is a vibrant university town and a baroque jewel. Apulia is "mare e terra", sea and land, a world of rich contrasts. The varied coastline and the hinterland with its cultivated farmland; the tranquil small towns and its cultural treasures. What man and culture have managed to shape, construct and beautify within thousands of years merges with the favourable climate, the clear blue sea, the everlasting sun, the sandy beaches and the rocky shorelines, the green islands, the peculiar grottos and other beauties, with which nature has endowed this region lavishly. The kind Mediterranean mentality and the natural friendliness of the people as well as its authentic gastronomy with excellent wines, fresh seafood and superb olive oil make Apulia an inviting holiday destination. Traditional celebrations and cultural events create a particularly hospitable atmosphere. With its two major airports Bari and Brindisi, Apulia is easy to reach from all destinations and served by several low-cost airlines.
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