Italy is a favorite … pretty much everybody’s been-there, done-that. But there’s a relatively undiscovered region that was the target destination for WOW’s first foray to Europe. The “heel” of Italy’s boot, Puglia is charming, beautiful and compelling. The pace is slower. It’s like Italy used to be before every American tourist and college student discovered it. No Starbucks. No gypsies. No styrofoam gelato containers. No crowds.

Instead, we explored cities with some of the best examples of Baroque architecture in Italy, mysterious caves and monuments and a landscape dotted with ancient Greek and Neolithic archaeological sites. Plus, centuries-old olive trees and miles of sandy beaches. . . . aaaaahhhhhhh Italy!

Highlights:

Sorrento

• We started in Sorrento – easily reached from the gateway airports of Rome or Naples, which was a great base for visits to Amalfi, the island of Capri and Pompeii
• We made (and devoured) pizza in the city where it was invented (Naples), and followed that up with limoncello gelato

Matera

• Remote, little-known Matera is one of the most interesting and unusual destinations in Italy, but it’s directly on the route from Sorrento to Puglia. Matter is a UNESCO world-heritage site, where we enjoyed lunch in a “Sassi” cave restaurant, originating from a prehistoric (troglodyte) settlement of 9,000 years ago

Itria Valley

• We enjoyed exclusive occupancy of uber-chic Cimino Masseria, an old farmhouse
• Daily excursions took us through the valley to see the rural landscape, iconic “trulli” houses, labyrinth of whitewashed village streets in Cisternino, Alberobello and Ostuni
• We took a cooking lesson with Mama Julia, making the ear-shaped Orecchiette pasta that is iconic in Puglia
• We did an olive oil tasting, learning how to “slurp” and aerate the oil like the experts

Lecce

• We stayed two nights at the 5-star Risorgimento Resort, in the heart of this pedestrian-friendly Baroque city
• We visited a family-owned farm, where we harvested ripe olives in a grove of 800-year-old olive trees and had a picnic with an unexpected visitor – the Mayor of the town of Squinzano and his entourage (just like out of a movie set!)
• We did a tasting of Primitivo wines
• A “pillow gift” was a bottle of freshly-pressed olive oil – from the fruit of our labors – with a WOW! Travel Club label