7D/6N - 2024 Apulia and Calabria

day 1 ROME–POLIGNANO A MARE (460 km)–LECCE (110 km)

Departure from Rome at 07.45 to Lecce by motorway with stop on the way for necessary breaks. Arriving to Polignano a Mare, the town famous for being the birthplace of the most popular Italian singer of all times, Domenico Modugno. This lovely town will surprise you with its old town, perched on the ramparts that frame a splendid beach. Lunch at your own. Continue to Lecce; in the afternoon you discover this city, already defined as the capital of the Baroque of the southern Italy; a cultural and historical centre of almost 100,000 inhabitants which hides ancient buildings of rare beauty, built along the centuries with the so called "stone of Lecce": the Cathedral, the Basilica of the Holy Cross, the Celestini Palace, the Roman Theater, the elegant and central Piazza Sant' Oronzo with the characteristic column and the entrance gates of the old city. Visit and accommodation. Overnight at the hotel.

day 2 LECCE–GALLIPOLI (40 km)-S. MARIA DI LEUCA (45 km)–OTRANTO (55 km)–LECCE (45 km)

Breakfast. Full day excursion through the micro-region of Salento. Arrival to Gallipoli, a beautiful fishermen village that was an island until a bridge, still used nowadays was built in the seventeenth century to join the two sides. Visit of the picturesque old town. Later, departure to Santa Maria di Leuca, the most renowned tourist center of the area, because of the wonderful position between promontories and beaches. The luxury tourism began to discover Leuca at the end of the nineteenth century and this is noted for the incredible number of summer villas of that time. Lunch at your own and in the afternoon, visit of the lighthouse of Leuca, unique viewpoint where Adriatic and Ionic Sea join each other. Finally, arrival to Otranto, easternmost municipality of the entire Italian peninsula and large Norman centre in the antiquity. A walled city, it grew up around the castle and the Cathedral and is today an important tourist center due to its location on the Adriatic, its beaches and the elegant Passeggiata degli Eroi along its beautiful coast. Visit and then return to Lecce. Overnight at the hotel.

day 3 LECCE-ALBEROBELLO (110 km)–OSTUNI (35 km)–BARI (80 km)

Breakfast. Today you will be invited to taste a couple of products that represent Apulia itself: extra virgin olive oil and red wine. Day dedicated to discover the northeastern part of Apulia, beginning with one of the most picturesque places and known in the world for its characteristic houses: Alberobello. In the seventeenth century the farmers of the area to avoid paying taxes to the Kingdom of Naples on the houses, began to build their houses with dry stone, which according to the law of the time said that it could not be considered a real place to live. The low local buildings with black roof shave stood up to this day and many have become luxury houses, craft shops or hotels. Visit and lunch at your own. In the afternoon, continue to Ostuni, the city of white houses, beautiful tourist center, known for its charming Cathedral, a mix of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles. Walk through the picturesque streets of the historic centre and then, departure for Bari. Introductive tour around the city including the Castello Svevo, the harbour, theatre Margherita and Petruzzelli. Walking in the narrow streets of Bari Vecchia to discover the old medieval wall, the Basilica of Saint Nicholas and admire the old housewifes producing the orecchiette, typical and local handmade pasta. Overnight at the hotel.

day 4 BARI–CASTEL DEL MONTE (55 km)–MATERA (75 km)

Breakfast. Departure for Matera with stop at the sensational hill where the famous Castel del Monte arises, an octagonal building commissioned by the King of Sicily Frederick II in the 13th century and today represented in the Italian currency of 2 Euro cents. UNESCO World Heritage, the castle was a fortress, a jail and even a tomb. Visit and later continuation to Matera. Lunch at your own. The city of the "Sassi" is also a UNESCO World Heritage for its old quarter which is an example of prehistoric urbanization. Today the old caves have been reused for daily and tourist reasons and component a really unique landscape that is worth to be discovered. Visit and overnight at the hotel.

day 5 MATERA-CIVITA (140 KM)-ALTOMONTE (40 KM)-COSENZA (60 KM)

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Civita and visit of the "village among the rocks", an interesting place of medieval origin, custodian of the culture and traditions of the Albanian community (Arbëreshë) in Italy. Departure to Altomonte, a little village in the hilly area of the Province of Cosenza, famous for its Norman Tower, Piazza San Francesco, core of the village and the Church of the Virgin of the Consolation. Departure to Cosenza, check in and accommodation.

day 6 COSENZA - PIZZO (90 KM) - TROPEA (30 KM) - COSENZA (120 KM)

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Pizzo, the centre of the famous Coast of the gods, known for being the "city of the ice cream", where you will have time to visit the village and to delight yourselves with the unmissable "Tartufo di Pizzo", a typical ice cream of the area. Lunch on your own. In the afternoon, continue to Tropea, a popular tourist centre that fascinates visitors with its picturesque alleys and its terraces more than fifty meters high above the crystalline sea. Return to Cosenza and accommodation.

day 7 COSENZA - PRAIA A MARE (100 km) – DIAMANTE (30 km) – PAOLA (40 km) – COSENZA (35 km)

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure towards Praia a Mare where you can admire the Arcomagno, majestic rock arch that holds a dream bay, and the Dino Island, the largest of the Calabrian islands on the Tyrrhenian Sea, with its splendid caves full of stalagmites. At the end of the visit, transfer to Diamante and free time for visiting this village, famous for the murals that adorn the historic centre. Lunch at your own. Continue to Paola, an important town by the coast, and visit to the Sanctuary of Saint Francis of Paola, dating back the 16th century, which guards the relics of the patron saint of Calabria on a hill surrounded by vegetation. At the end, return to Cosenza. Overnight at the hotel.

day 8 COSENZA – SALERNO (260 km) – ROME (260 km)

After breakfast, departure in the morning for the return. Stop in the city of Salerno and visit of the historic centre of this interesting town founded by the ancient Roman with the name of Salernum, whose origin dates back to the end of the 2nd century b. C. Lunch at your own. At the end continuation towards Rome. End of services.

Inclusions: 4* twin share accommodation, breakfast daily, private minivan or coach, escort guide/driver up to 8 people (driver and guide with more than 8), entrance to Castel del Monte, olive oil and wine tasting in Apulia, typical wine and salami tasting in Calabria, wi-fi, services and taxes.

Exclusions: meals, entrances, porterage, city taxes to be paid to hotels.

Hotels: Lecce-Hotel delle Palme, Bari-Hotel Oriente, Matera-Hotel-San Domenico, Cosenza-Hotel Albanuova. Cosenza-Hotel Royal (or similar)
Notes: multilingual tour, maximum 16 participants