Favorite holiday destination for tourists, the Apulia also this year registered a boom in attendance and bookings. Far from the popular beaches of Salento and the bays of the Gargano, there is an area in Puglia, called Land of Bari, equally fascinating and rich in history, art and nature.
Rising to the honors of the international jet set as the filming location of Beautiful, the famous American soap opera, Polignano a Mare is located 35 km south of Bari and stands out for its enchanting scenery overlooking the sea. Its small historic center perched on the rock offers romantic views and sea caves bathed by transparent waters, among which the most famous is Palazzese cave.
A few kilometers you meet Monopoli, a tourist town known for its long coastline dotted with coves and night clubs. The hamlet of Capitolo is certainly the most popular for its sandy beaches and numerous equipped beaches.
The "old town" of Monopoli, however, is an unmissable destination: it retains the characteristic structure of a medieval village, with narrow alleys, low houses, one attached to the other, and boasts monuments and churches of great importance.
To visit is the Maria SS Cathedral: della Madia, from the Baroque period and decorated with polychrome marble; the Castle of Charles V, a few steps from the port, built by the Spaniards in 1552 together with the city walls, the Romanesque-style Church of Santa Maria degli Amalfitani, built by the sailors of Amalfi who escaped a shipwreck in the XNUMXth century. It is pleasant to get lost in the alleys and admire the countless churches.
Monopoli, also called the city of the 100 districts, is characterized by a vast countryside, scattered with ancient farmhouses, many of which have become luxury hotels and farmhouses, rock churches, Mediterranean scrub with marvelous centuries-old olive trees.
Leaving the Adriatic coast and entering the Bari hinterland, you will soon reach Castellana, known throughout Italy for its caves. Typical manifestations of karst, underground caves are the result of the slow infiltration of water into the subsoil, which the karst soil of these areas is unable to retain on the surface.
The caves of Castellana, discovered in 1938 by prof. Rings, are about 3 kilometers long and about 70 meters deep.
Inside you can take a guided tour along 2 paths dotted with splendid concretions, stalactites, stalagmites, curtains and columns.
And finally, but not least, you cannot miss a visit to Alberobello, the town of the Trulli, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. These fairytale cubic constructions, famous all over the world, are made with chiancarelle, limestone slabs that are superimposed concentrically without the use of mortar or binder.
This part of the South East of Bari has nothing to envy to other more famous places; here you can discover a land of sun, sea, picturesque views, traditional flavors and ancient culture.
