Itinerary Details
Abercrombie & Kent: Tailor Made Italy: Puglia & the Amalfi Coast
Day 1 Bari, Puglia
Arrive in historic, lively Bari, where you are transferred to your luxurious hotel.
Masseria Torre Maizza
Meals:
Day 2 PugliaToday, explore central Puglia, beginning in crown-shaped Locorotondo, among the most beautiful villages in Italy. Perched majestically atop a hill overlooking the countryside, the town is stippled with whitewashed, flower-adorned houses with stone staircases and balconies. Continue to Cisternino, where you intersect alleys, climb staircases and walk beneath arches marked with decorative figureheads that are believed to ward off evil spirits. Next, meet a local butcher, who has been providing superior cuts to locals since 1948, and savor a chef-prepared meal in these quaint environs. Proceed to the town of Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dotted with distinct, cone-shaped trulli dwellings. Constructed as immigrant domiciles in the 15th century, they were built without binding materials so they could quickly be demolished to avoid property taxes.
Masseria Torre Maizza
Meals: Breakfast
Day 3 LecceAfter breakfast, head south to Lecce, stopping en route to visit an olive oil producer at an ancientmasseria (farming estate). Watch how olives are pressed and sample a variety of local olive oils. Learn how olives have been central to the region’s evolution since Roman times, including its hey-day, when its oil was considered “liquid gold,” a commodity once used to fuel all the streetlights in London. Next stop in the “White City” of Ostuni, a monumental olive-tree-swathed plateau of the lower Murgia. Take a guided walk along its sun-drenched streets and quaint, cobbled alleyways, taking in panoramas of the surrounding landscape and Adriatic Sea. See the Rione Terra district at the heart of the medieval walled village and the magnificent Gothic cathedral. Also behold the city’s iconic olive trees, with their massive gnarled trunks, some of which may date back 3,000 years. Continue to the oldest bakery in Ostuni, set in a 14th-century building, to discover how this family-run business has turned out renowned bread, focaccia and cookies from an olivewood-fired oven since the 1920s. Then, proceed to Lecce, where you check in to your hotel.
Patria Palace
Meals: Breakfast
Day 4 LecceSpend today exploring Lecce, a Baroque “Florence of the South.” Take a scenic walking tour through town, seeing the Piazza del Duomo, the masterful Basilica of Santa Croce and the Roman amphitheater. Taste a pasticciotto while learning the secrets behind preparing this beloved, custard-filled confection. Next, master the intricate art of papier-maché, which has played a significant role in Lecce’s culture and religious heritage since the 17th century. After creating your own masterpiece, return to your hotel for an afternoon at leisure.
Patria Palace
Meals: Breakfast
Day 5 OtrantoTravel to Otranto, Italy’s easternmost city, a “bridge” linking the country to the Mediterranean. Upon arriving in the afternoon, take a scenic drive along the coast, seeing the Castro, Tricase Porto and Grotta della Poesia. Enclosed by Aragonese walls, Otranto’s Old Town overlooks the crystalline waters. Punctuated by white houses and alleys paved in stone, it was founded by the Greeks in the Byzantine period as a commercial, political and religious hub and a major port of trade with the Orient. The medieval town center — once a vast stronghold — reminds visitors of the threats posed by the Turks, the culmination of which involved a tragic invasion in 1480. Otranto’s cathedral houses a spectacular mosaic floor from the 12th century that blends pagan, Old Testament and New Testament imagery to capture the culture of the time. Visit a local dairy farm located along the gorgeous coastal road known as the Litoranea Salentina. On the farm’s pasturelands, more than a thousand head of sheep graze on the precious Mediterranean flora. Enjoy a tasting in this beautiful corner of paradise whose silence is broken only by the sounds of nature. Before heading back to Lecce, set out on a scenic drive along the coastline, stopping to take pictures or visit the town of Galatina famous for its connection with the ritual local dancing called “tarantismi” (spider music), from which the tarantella folk dance evolved. Return to your hotel and enjoy your evening in Lecce at leisure.Return to your hotel in Lecce for an evening at leisure.
Patria Palace
Meals: Breakfast
Day 6 MateraTransfer to Matera, among the most ancient cities on earth. Continually inhabited for 10,000 years, this magical open-air museum — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — is an inimitable tangle of cave-dwellings, magnificent Baroque palaces and beautiful stone churches, some of which still have their original fresco decorations. Make your way through the sassi (districts of the city) to see the dark caves of the Murgia; the rock-hewn churches of religious communities; and the elegant streets of the Piano, replete with 17th-century monasteries and palaces. Visit a bakery where your guide introduces you to a local bread so distinctive of the region it is honored with IGP (Indication of Geographic Protection) status. Depending on time and availability, you may also stop at a house furnished as it was centuries earlier, when as many as ten people with their animals lived in just one or two rooms. Descend into deep cisterns and canals once used for water collection to complete your explorations, and at dusk, note how the city’s biblical landscape resembles an enormous crèche (nativity scene).
Palazzo Gattini
Meals: Breakfast
Day 7 Amalfi CoastDepart for the beautiful Amalfi Coast, stopping en route on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius for a wonderful panoramic lunch with paired sparkling, red and white wines. Your delicious lunch is made entirely from local ingredients, such as tomatoes grown directly on the volcano’s slopes that are considered among the most flavorful in all of Italy. Continue to Pompeii, where you join a guide for a revealing walk through this once opulent town. The extensive and varied ruins of Pompeii now provide us with a rich history of life at the time of the Roman Empire, a sobering glimpse into ancient antiquity. Destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 B.C., this unearthed treasure includes temples, forums, amphitheaters, a brothel and the casts of the people killed by the falling ash and pumice stone. Afterward, proceed to your luxury hotel with unrivaled views in Sorrento.
Art Hotel Villa Fiorella
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 8 CapriLeave mainland Italy behind as you board a ferry to stunning Capri. Upon arrival, stroll Capri’s charming, boutique-lined streets. Then, weather permitting, board a public boat that whisks you to the spellbinding, iridescent Blue Grotto. Observe the magical light that illuminates the cave’s rocky walls. Continue sightseeing, or choose to explore beautiful Villa San Michele in Anacapri the Church of San Michele or the summit of Monte Solaro, reached by chairlift. Return to your hotel on the mainland for an evening at leisure.
Art Hotel Villa Fiorella
Meals: Breakfast
Day 9 Amalfi CoastSkirt the fabled Amalfi coast by private vehicle, starting with a visit to the enchanting village of Ravello, with its stunning coastal views. Take in vistas from the lovely Villa Rufolo before continuing to Amalfi. See the Duomo, fronted by a beautifully hued, 13th-century façade. Pause for lunch at leisure in a delightful, sea-view restaurant. Continue north seeing a kaleidoscope of lagoons, sandy coves, vertiginous cliffs and sun-baked villages en route to vibrant Positano. Stop at a local ceramics producer and learn more about the production process, the colors and the different techniques involved in creating these beautiful works of art. Meander along the village’s narrow lanes, descending toward the glistening sea, where elegant restaurants serve the catch of the day. Next, follow the coast to elegant Sorrento, a Belle Époque treasure of graceful streets with stunning views across the Gulf of Naples.
Art Hotel Villa Fiorella
Meals: Breakfast
Day 10 NaplesTransfer to the Naples airport and board your departure flight.
Meals: Breakfast
