Roam
The bread basket of Italy
Puglia: The Real Dolce Vita
May 6-13, 2023
The heel of the boot has mainland Italy’s longest coastline, white-sand beaches, winds from the Sahara desert—and the perfect climate for its centuries-old olive groves. Puglia’s rich agricultural legacy includes the fairytale stone villages of the Valle d’Itria and a hearty cuisine that gave the world burrata and orecchiette. Spend some time in Puglia’s laid-back embrace.
Our Host
Editor, Osterie d’Italia guide
Eugenio Signoroni
Trip Guide
R&K Co-Founder
Nathan Thornburgh
R&K Trip Itinerary
More than just the breadbasket of Italy, Puglia is the farming stronghold that nourishes Italy, the laid-back and lovely home of bread, cheese, seafood, wine. Join us for a week of celebrating the finest the heel of the boot produces: outstanding seafood crudo of Italy’s longest mainland coast, famous pasta, mozzarella masters. We’ll be based in a gorgeous masseria—a Puglian villa—that will be all our own, branching out from there for pilgrimages to the birthplace of the region’s distinctive salumi and cheese, and raising many glasses with some of Italy’s most innovative winemakers.
May 6-13, 2023
Day 1
May 6 Sat
A first taste of Puglia
- MASSERIA BELVEDERE
- Contrada Belvedere, 72012 Carovigno BR, Italy
- +393393218479
- A welcome dinner in traditional osteria, Cibus, in Ceglie Messapica—a hymn to this corner of Puglia with a tasting of local salumi, cheeses, and pasta
Day 2
May 7 Sun
Trul(l)i and Olive Oil
- MASSERIA BELVEDERE
- Contrada Belvedere, 72012 Carovigno BR, Italy
- +393393218479
- Langorous morning with optional time on the nearby Adriatic coast
- Puglia is one of Italy’s biggest producers of olive oil, and its centuries-old olive trees are one of the region’s biggest attractions. In the fairytale stone-house village of Alberobello, Intini produces olive oil with indigenous varieties. We’ll lunch and have an insider’s visit of their process and product
- Dinner in the masseria, with a lesson in making local specialties such as orecchiette and focaccia barese
Day 3
May 8 Mon
A Butcher’s Feast in Martina Franca
- MASSERIA BELVEDERE
- Contrada Belvedere, 72012 Carovigno BR, Italy
- +390835332744
- A visit to Francesco Carriero farm to see how pata negra pigs are transformed into the famous local salume, Capocollo di Martina Franca
- Free time, walks, and drinks in the limestone-roofed town of Locorotondo
- Dinner in the greatest of all traditional fornelli, Da Riccardo, to taste an array of region’s best meats: bombetta, straccetti, gnummarieddi, and more
Day 4
May 9 Tue
Formaggio e Pane
- Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita
- Via Civita, 28, 75100 Matera MT, Italy
- +393393218479
- Roadtrip! Pack an overnight bag (we’re keeping our rooms at Belvedere) and head west into the fabled lands of Basilicata.
- Check in at the luxury cave dwelling hotel Sextantio in Matera
- Light lunch with cheese and salumi in Latteria Rizzi
- Visit and aperitif in a traditional grotta from XVII century
- Dinner at the big-plate, big-flavor destination Stano
- A night exploring the hill town of Matera
Day 5
May 10 Wed
Slow Matera
- MASSERIA BELVEDERE
- Contrada Belvedere, 72012 Carovigno BR, Italy
- +393393218479
- Check out from Sextantio and head for the hills (of Alta Murgia)
- Spend the day in Alta Murgia with our friends the Dicecca brothers to discover the area and its cheeses, flavored with the herbs that grow in these mountains
- Lunch with the DiCecca brothers in the hills
- Sample Altamura’s traditional bread at Di Gesù bakery
- Dinner at Botteghe Antiche in Putignano
- Back to our familiar rooms at Masseria Belvedere
Day 6
May 11 Thu
The Fruits of Il Mare Piccolo
- MASSERIA BELVEDERE
- Contrada Belvedere, 72012 Carovigno BR, Italy
- +393393218479
- Leisurely morning at the Masseria with yet another breakfast cooked by our private chef
- The town of Taranto holds the jewel of Mare Piccolo, a lagoon where oysters and bearded mussels—two examples of crudo, Puglian raw fish antipasto—are farmed
- Seafood dinner in Osteria la Sciabica in Brindisi
Day 7
May 12 Fri
Formaggio e Vino
- MASSERIA BELVEDERE
- Contrada Belvedere, 72012 Carovigno BR, Italy
- +393393218479
- Free time in the morning, under the Puglian sun
- Nodini, burrata, and stracciatella are only a small part of Puglia’s unmatched variety of traditional dairy products. We discover it all in Masseria La Lunghiera in Turi for a long instructional visit and a relaxed lunch
- Farewell party in Masseria La Cattiva, a young and eccentric natural winery whose founders have been feeding our wine supply lines throughout the week
Day 8
May 13 Sat
Arrivederci
- Bari Airport
- One last languorous breakfast at our Masseria
- Private transfer to Bari Airport for flights home