A JOURNEY THROUGH BASILICATA & PUGLIA

Day 1 Arrive in Bari and self-drive to Matera

Fly to Bari, collect your car on arrival and drive to the impressive troglodyte town of Matera. Once the impoverished “shame of Italy”, it is now a jewel in the UNESCO firmament – albeit relatively unknown. One of the world’s longest continuously inhabited settlements, its rocky bluffs are packed with prehistoric limestone grottoes that evoke another era entirely. A mysterious and mesmerising reverence surrounds this ancient site, and the history of its caves will continue to fascinate you, long after you leave. Start your journey by staying in what was once the private home of one of the most important noble Matera families: Palazzo Gattini crowns the town with a classic Italian grandeur, commanding rooftop terrace and subterranean spa. Its suites are particularly lavish – one with a rooftop pool, another with a mosaic bath.

Overnight: Palazzo Gattini

Day 2 Crypt of the Original Sin

Spend the morning exploring the ancient Sassi di Matera cave dwellings: excavated by hand from the soft volcanic “tuff”, stacked atop one another, and united by twisting lanes and wide staircases. Visit the Crypt of the Original Sin, where 8th-century wall art was discovered as recently as the 1960s, after years of use as shelter for herds of sheep. Biblical scenes include Adam and Eve eating fruit from the tree of knowledge (lending the cave its name), depictions of the apostles, archangels and the Virgin Mary – a remarkably preserved blend of Romanesque, Oriental and Byzantine styles.

Overnight: Palazzo Gattini

Day 3 Basilicata's Calanchi

Leave Matera to wend your way through smaller villages – some now abandoned – in the province, travelling through the majestically barren calanchi (badlands) landscape to discover first-hand how the south of Italy is so wildly different to that of the more developed north. A short drive will lead you to a small, sedate hilltop town in the arch of Italy’s heel where Francis Ford Coppola’s hideaway, Palazzo Margherita, exudes 19th-century glamour. Frescoed walls and ceilings, romantic gardens and flawless suites designed by the Coppola family make it a peaceful place to unwind in true Italian style.

Overnight: Palazzo Margherita

Day 4 Bernalda

Venture into the medieval hilltop town of Bernalda to experience a taste of traditional, unspoilt Italian lifestyle. At their small family-run workshop, meet a local cheesemaker from whom you will learn about cheese production using methods that have been handed down for generations, and how to make the softest cheese. Return to Palazzo Margherita to continue your culinary voyage with a cooking class, preparing and shaping local styles of pasta with the chef – all the while tasting local wines and the fruits of your labour, of course.

Overnight: Palazzo Margherita

Day 5 Drive through the Valle d’Itria towards Lecce

Relax in the gardens or outdoor pool at Palazzo Margherita before driving yourselves through neighbouring Puglia towards Lecce, your final destination. Marvel at the Valle d’Itria between Putignano and Martina Franca, where traditional conical trulli stone huts can be found in villages, and venture into Alberobello – the only trulli town with constructions from the 14th century. As you reach Lecce, you will pass wonderful medieval architecture and Baroque masterpieces before finding La Fiermontina at the town’s centre. Respectful of its 17th-century foundations, the hotel is a peerless modernist update to the masseria (Pugliese country estate or farmhouse) it once was. Star-pinnacle vaulted ceilings rise above marble flagstone and traditional white limestone floors in many of the 16 boutique bedrooms, furnished to befit the building’s storied past.

Overnight: La Fiermontina

Day 6 Lecce

Life slows right down in Lecce. Take a walking tour in the morning – from the 15,000-seat Roman amphitheatre to artistically rich cathedrals, towers and churches, as well as the boutiques that only locals know about – before an afternoon at leisure to stroll cobbled lanes and try Pugliese coffee. After exploring its close-knit streets and sauntering back to La Fiermontina, down the olive-lined path to the pool and sculpture garden, any other mode of living may seem quite impossible.

Overnight: La Fiermontina

Day 7 Depart