Secret Salento: a part of Puglia once off-the-beaten-track – always the end of the road. Italy’s far south is where the land ends and two seas – the Adriatic and Ionian – meet. Explore hidden villages, magnificent castles, Baroque towns and historic ports. Flip-flop between two coasts, swim in two seas, hike dramatic clifftops, beachcomb along pure white sand…
Masseria guests have exclusive access to its big sister. The castle is Ugento’s jewel and home to a world-class culinary school, gastronomic restaurant, museum and contemporary exhibitions and luxury boutique hotel…
Dine in the castle’s old bakery, now a gourmet restaurant
Take a pasta-making masterclass in the state-of-the-art kitchens
Tour the restored 18th-century garden with the head gardener, and witness how it is once again brimming with fragrant fruit, herbs and vegetables
Crane your neck as you tour room after room of original 17th-century frescoes
into Puglia’s rich past. Ugento is home to a world-class archaeological museum – the centerpiece, the Tomb of the Athlete dating from the 6th Century BC
Head to Otranto to gaze on the cathedral’s 12th-century mosaics or explore the Baroque beauty of Lecce…
From bric-a-bric stores to antiques markets and picturesque villages famous for their ceramics and fabrics
Hunt out the best Pasticciotto Leccese, mooch around local markets and tuck into Gallipoli’s famous Imperial Oysters on the seafront
Puglia comes alive in the summer with the Locomotive Jazz Festival and the classical Muse Salentine Festival with open-air concerts held in ancient palazzo’s and piazzas
Feel the sand between your toes. The long sandy beaches on the west coast are lapped by the Ionian Sea, to the east is the dramatic Adriatic
Journey to the source of Primitivo wine with a tasting and tour at a local vineyard
Book a boat trip with a local fisherman
Cycle through shimmering olive groves from village to village
Hike along the craggy clifftops of the Adriatic
