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Day 3 – Basilicata & Alta Murgia: Matera – Altamura – After breakfast, leave for Matera. The magnificent city of ‘Sassi’ (‘Stones’), whose ancient stone  dwellings are dug into the soft calcareous stone of the canyon or ‘gravina’ and is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. You’ll explore the Civita, the  upper area of the old town dominated by the Romanesque cathedral as well as the lower part known as the Sasso Barisano. Lunch in a restaurant. In the  afternoon, a brief visit to Altamura to discover this fantastic town full of fascinating sights located within the National Park of the Alta Murgia. Back to  your hotel where dinner awaits you.

 

Day 4 – Cathedrals & Castles: Trani - Castel del Monte – After breakfast, leave for Trani, beautiful seaside town just north of Bari where you’ll visit the  cathedral, symbol of Apulian Romanesque style as well as the castle built by the Emperor Frederick II of Swabia to defend the harbour. Lunch in a restaurant.  In the afternoon, visit Castel del Monte (listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites) – its plan is in the form of a regular octagon with a tower, also  octagonal, at each angle. Then on to the promontory of Gargano. Back to your hotel where dinner awaits you.

 

Day 5 – Valle d’Itria: Martina Franca – Locorotondo - Cisternino - Ostuni – breakfast and then departure for Martina Franca, stunning Baroque city,  considered the ‘capital’ of the area known as the Valle (Valley) d’Itria and famous not only for its aristocratic palaces, but also for its intricately  decorated churches built of the local white stone very similar to the leccese stone. Panoramic tour of Locorotondo and Cisternino, two delightful towns in  the Valle d’Itria. After lunch in a restaurant, a tour of the historic centre of Ostuni, known as ‘La Città Bianca’ (‘the White City’). This picturesque town  is nestled on a hilltop that overlooks century-old olive groves that weave their way down to the Adriatic Sea. For those of you who love good food and good  drink there will be a stop to savour local specialties at the Oleificio Cooperativo, Ostuni’s olive oil cooperative, where you will have the opportunity to  buy traditional products at very good prices. On to Lecce where dinner awaits you at your 

hotel.

 

Day 6 – Finibus Terrae: Lecce - Otranto - Santa Maria di Leuca – After breakfast, time to explore the historic centre of Lecce where you will marvel at the Baroque architecture of Piazza San Oronzo, the Churches of San Matteo and the Rosario as well as Piazza Duomo and the Church of Santa Croce. After lunch in a restaurant, on to lovely Otranto for an afternoon excursion where you’ll discover the easternmost city in Italy. A visit to the cathedral con its chapel  dedicated to the 800 martyrs, its crypt as well as its mosaic floor (one of the largest in the world) created by the monk Pantaleone. Time permitting, a  scenic drive along the stunning coastal highway to Santa Maria di Leuca, the end of the ‘heel of the boot’. Brief tour of the historic centre and of the  Sanctuary of ‘Finibus Terrae’ or ‘Land’s End’. Back to your hotel where dinner awaits you.

 

Day 7 – The Heart of Salento - Gallipoli – Galatina – After breakfast, you’ll visit lovely Gallipoli on the Ionian Sea, founded by the Greeks. Gallipoli’s  historic centre makes it one of the gems of Salento with its rich artistic, historical and cultural heritage. Discover the Cathedral of Sant’Agata as well as  the outside of the Aragonese Castle. After lunch in a restaurant, on to Galatina, symbol of ‘tarantismo’, a physical phenomenon supposedly caused by a  spider’s bite. Explore not only the medieval centre and the Church of San Paolo (if open) as well as the Church of San Pietro, but especially the Basilica of  Santa Caterina of Alexandria. Though Romanesque in style, it also exhibits traces of late Ghotic, making it unique in Salento. This unusual church has  preserved a magnificent cycle of frescoes dating back to the 1300s and painted in the style of the school of Giotto. Back to your hotel for dinner.

 

Day 8 – End of Tour - Departure – You will have free time after breakfast and then transfer to the Brindisi airport and the end of our tour.