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Why choose Puglia ?

Clean seas and reliable sunshine have made Puglia a popular region for second homes. There's a geographical diversity to Puglia that is very attractive, though to get to the best from the province you either need your own transport. The very southern tip, the Salentine peninsula, is rocky and dry, more Greek than Italian, while there's plenty of mountain scenery in the undulating plateau of Le Murge , in the centre of the province. The best escape, though, is north to the mountains, forests and beaches of the Gargano promontory with some of the finest unpolluted sand and sea to be found anywhere on the Adriatic.

Getting around Puglia by public transport is fairly easy, at least as far as the main towns and cities go. Trains connect nearly all the major places, while small, private lines head into previously remote areas - in the Gargano and on the edges of Le Murge. Most other places can be reached by bus.

The Property Market

Generally speaking prices for property in Puglia are more favourable than elsewhere in southern Italy and with the advent of low cost airlines demand for property is soaring. However, unlike the popular regions of Tuscany and Umbria for example, Puglia has never been a 'fashionable' region of Italy and this is why property prices remain affordable and the abundance of real estate available for sale in Italy's Puglia is impressive.

Accessibility is not a problem with two airports, Bari and Brindisi receiving regular direct flights from across the UK and nowhere in Puglia is more than an hour or so drive away from an airport. A trullo in need of renovation is considered one of the better buys in Puglia and such a property starts from around 30,000 to 40,000 Euros. These trulli are exceptionally in demand by investors because they know that the amount spent on renovation will immediately be added to the property in value terms when complete, and the property will become easy to let out to the tourist market or to resell on to those looking for a unique property in the sun. Alternatively there are many town houses and villas for sale in Puglia along the coast and in Puglia's pretty medieval villages and towns, and now some new developments are beginning to take shape offering properties for sale to the second home hunter or retiree in search of that perfect getaway. Quality off plan apartments start from around Euro 90,000 and a villa for sale in Puglia with pool and close to the sea will cost from around Euro 160,000. In the past 5 years house prices have risen on average about 8% per year.

Territory and History

Puglia (or Apulia, in English) is a long, narrow peninsula, mostly occupied by plains and hills, apart from some lower mountains of the Southern Apennine chain and the Gargano promontory, with high, steep cliffs. The hilly area is called Le Murge, while the plains are the Terra di Bari, Terra d'Otranto, Penisola Salentina and the Tavoliere, the second largest plain in Italy, while the very long coastline is usually low and with sandy beaches. Apart from the provincial capitals, other important centres are Alberobello, Conversano, Barletta, Canosa, San Giovanni Rotondo, Manfredonia, Martina Franca, Mesagne, Molfetta, Ostuni, Otranto, Santa Maria di Leuca, Trani, San Vito dei Normanni, Barletta, Gioia del Colle and Andria.

For centuries Puglia was a strategic province, colonised, invaded and conquered (like its neighbours, Calabria and Sicily) by just about every major power of the day, from the Greeks through to the Spanish. As elsewhere in the South, each ruling dynasty left its own distinctive mark on the landscape and architecture - as seen, for example, in the surviving traces of Roman agricultural and the fortified medieval towns. There's no escaping some of the historical influences in Puglia. Perhaps most distinctive are the Saracenic kasbah-like quarters of many towns and cities, the one at Bari being the biggest and most atmospheric

The Normans endowed Puglia with splendidly ornate cathedrals; there's one at Trani which skilfully blends many strands of regional craft traditions from north and south. And the Baroque exuberance of towns like Lecce and Martina Franca are testament to the Spanish legacy. But if there's one symbol of Puglia that stands out, it's the imposing castles built by the Swabian Frederick II, all over the province - foremost of which are the Castel del Monte and the remnants of the palace at Lucera.

Places

The influx of tourists in Puglia is linked to the numbers of beach resorts along the Adriatic and Ionican coasts. Most of the beaches are wide and sandy, giving way to attractive rocky coves, some with magnificent sea caves, in a few parts of Gargano and the Salentino peninsula. Taking the Gargano promontory as a starting point, the most important centres are Rodi Garganico, Peschici, Vieste, the elegant Pugnochiuso and Baia delle Zagare, where numerous sea crags give added beauty to the scenery.

Farther south lie Bisceglie, Polignano a Mare, Torre Canne, Marina di Ostuni, Roca Vecchia, Castro Marina and Leuca, at the tip of Salento. Along the Ionican coastline, Gallipoli is followed by S. Mari al Bagno, Porto Cesareo, Marina di Pulsano, Riva dei Tessali and Marina di Ginosa. Unforgettable is the rocky little Tremiti archipelago, off the Gargano coast, where the beauties of Nature still lie intact.

Extending for more than 150 kilometres between the two seas which have modelled its morphology and history, the Salento has an enchanting and evocative coastline.

The East Coast
Anyone who would like to do a round tour of the two seas, a little more than 200 kilometres, should leave from Casalabate, a beach not far from the Santa Maria di Cerrate Abbey in Squinzano, and follow the low and sandy coast south, through Torre Rinalda, Torre Chianca and Frigole, shaded by pinewoods, as far as San Cataldo, with the remains of the Messapian town Lupiae and of Adrian's Roman port, and then continue along the panoramic state road 611 as far as the Cesine, one of the most interesting and evocative marsh lands in Europe, protected by an international convention. A visit to the area, part of the Vernole district, is enriched by marshes, and bogs, and a volunteer guide is available from the WWF offering you the possibility to admire the various natural habitats, from dunes to salt marshes, from reeds to oak and pine woods, to woodland with myrtle, masitic tree and broom, a refuge for numerous animal and vegetable species and transit crossroads for some migratory birds.

The West Coast
After Punta Ristola the scenery changes perceptibly. Low cliffs and stretches of sand interrupt the high precipices of before, red earth and vineyards come into view interspersed with sixteenth century towers and umbrella laden beaches, with hotels and hostels and tourist villages. Stories of Barbarian incursions give each place its name: Torre dell’Omo Morto (dead man’s tower) and Torre Marchiello (Castrignano del Capo), Torre Vado (Morciano di Leuca), Torre Pali (Salve), Torre Mozza and Torre San Giovanni (Ugento), Torre Suda (Racale), beach resorts and also centres of winter tourism, that have succeeded in linking their natural beauty with historical finds and local culture, making this part of the peninsular a formidable tourism enterprise that can supply interest and information in the area throughout the year.

Of particular interest for naturalists in this part of the coast are the Ugento inlets, these constitute another amazing nature reserve, a damp zone characterised by its marshland of rushes and reeds (which are used in one of Salento's most typical handicrafts) and which is also a migratory passage for beautiful birds such as royal swans.

Many of the inland villages possess something of artistic or scenic interest, often with important historical remains. The visitor would do well to see the villages of Monte S. Angelo, standing in a panoramic position on the Gargano hills, Lucera in Capitanata, with the remains of a Roman amphitheatre, Troia, which has a Romanesque-Pugliese cathedral (11th-13th century), with a magnificent rose window.

In the Murges area, lies Canosa, with a 11th century cathedral and the beautiful isolated octagonal Castel del Monte, built by Frederick II, on a splendid panoramic site, Ruvo di Puglia, with one of the most important Romanesque-Pugliese cathedrals (13th century); Alberobello, with its extraordinary trulli; Gioia del Colle, which has a great castle (11th-13th century); Altamura, with a Romanesque-Gothic cathedral (13th-15th century), Grottaglie, a pottery craft centre; Manduria (megalithic walls and necropolis).
Some of the coastal towns also attract large numbers of tourists. Barletta, famous for the Disfida in 1503, with a giant bronze statue of the Colosso (4th century); Trani, with a fine Romanesque cathedral (12th century); Monopoli, dominated by its 16th century castle, with nearby ruins of the pre-Roman city of Egnazia; Otranto, with its characteristic historical centre and beautiful cathedral (11th-12th century). In the immediate Bari hinterland lies Bitonto, whose 13th century cathedral is probably the finest example of Romanesque-Pugliese architecture.

Communications

The region is well supplied with the roads, highways and railways connecting nearly all the parts of the region with the center and north of Italy. There are two big enough airports in Bari and Brindisi; and two main ports are located in Taranto and Brindisi.

Climate

The climate in Apulia is typically Mediterranean: hot and dry. The precipitation is scarce and take place only in the period between October and March.

Sample Properties

The climate in Apulia is typically Mediterranean: hot and dry. The precipitation is scarce and take place only in

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