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.

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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