Puglia — South Eastern Italy — FACT FILE

Puglia or Apulia as it is called in English, is the region in south-eastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Otranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. It is a very much up and coming area of Italy and becoming popular with visitors. It forms the “boot” part of Italy.

The region is bordered by the other Italian regions of Molise to the north, Campania to the west, and Basilicata to the southwest. It is close to Albania, which is 80 km across the Adriatic. The region extends as far north as Monte Gargano

Puglia produces a large quantity of the wine drunk in Italy and apart from acres of vineyards there are also a great deal of olive groves.

Bari is the capital of the region, which is divided into the provinces (and their capitals by the same name) of Bari, Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce, and Taranto. Apulia is mostly a plain; its low coast, however, is broken by the mountainous Garagano Peninsula in the north, and there are mountains in the north central part of the region. Other important centres are Alberobello, Conversano, Canosa, San Giovanni Rotondo, Manfredonia, Martina Franca, Mesagne, Molfetta, Otranto, Santa Maria di Leuca, Trani, Barletta and Andria, Gioia del Colle Farming

If you are looking for something equally fascinating as further north in Italy that is completely different and much less crowded, this is a wonderful area to consider. There is at least one excellent archaeological museum, a host of cathedrals dating back to the 10th century, several deserted — and thus highly atmospheric — Greek and Roman ruins, a selection of lively fishing villages and one of Europe's largest forests. There is a chain of medieval hill top towns and villages and some of the very cleanest beaches and water in the Mediterranean.

Enjoy your visit to Puglia

N.B. This information should not be relied on for accuracy and is presented here without the responsibility of jml Property Service and the website it is being displayed at. ©jml property Services 1-06

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