History & Heritage

Travel through Puglia and you travel through time, across an evocative land which tells of a turbulent history, set in a wild and vivid landscape, bordered by the shores of two clear blue seas.

This is an arid and uncompromising land; a terrain dotted with towers built centuries ago to defend it from Islamic invaders. There is also a more gentle, cultivated countryside, where every wealthy farm and estate was fortified to protect the rural way of life behind its baroque façade and the dry stone walls defining its lands, home to the peasant workers who prayed in the tiny chapels for a plentiful harvest.

Originally inhabited by an Illyric population, the region was always a strategic area for Mediterranean peoples, and since early times was colonised by the Greeks, who founded the colony of Taranto, then in the 4th century the Romans began their conquest of the territory, and built the Via Appia to connect it to Rome. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD Pulia was for a time under the influence of Byzanthium, then was gradually occupied by the Lombards, the Franks and the Saracens. In the 10th century the Eastern Roman Empire defeated the Saracens and came in control once again, but already the cities were rising in power and requesting more autonomy.

Starting from 1059 the Norman Roberto il Guiscardo occupied part of Southern Italy becoming Duke of Puglia and Calabria, and since then the history of Pulia was the history of the Kingdom of Sicily. The Normans gave way to the Swabians and these to the Anjou and the Aragonese, and the region suffered all the evils of bad government, until in the 18th century some improvement took place under the Bourbons, who improved the communications building roads and ports, and granted some social and land reforms. In 1860 Puglia was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, and at that time it was divided into only three provinces: Bari, Foggia (or Capitanata) and Lecce, while Taranto and Brindisi were added in 1927.

As a consequence of its variegated history and the different languages spoken in this region for centuries, there are a number of very different dialects: in the northern areas a Neapolitan dialect called northern Pugliese, in the southern part a Sicilian dialect called Salentino, and in isolated areas of Salento a hybrid language dating back to the 9th century called Griko, as well as a rare dialect of the French-Provençal language called "Faetar" is spoken in Faeto and Carlantino in the Province of Foggia and in a number villages, the "Arbëreshë" dialect has been spoken since Albanian refugees settled there in the 15th century, following the invasion of the Balkans by the Turkish Empire.

Many old and atmospheric buildings, abandoned by their owners centuries ago, have now been restored and some offer accommodation to the discerning tourist.

This is also the home of the 'trullo’, a structure unique to Puglia whose simple architecture has earned designated Unesco heritage status. These conical towers have come to bear the symbols of faith - crosses, half-moons and stars etched in white limestone over hundreds of years, and they are found almost exclusively in the square of land enclosed by the picturesque country villages of Alberobello, Cisternino, Locorotondo and Martina Franca, in the province of Murgia.

It is possible that the symbols were drawn by monks or hermits, trying to protect their Christian faith from eastern influence. One of the best places to explore the mysterious trullo is in the countryside around Martina Franca, in the province of Taranto.

Here, the pinnacled towers soar heavenwards, while the modest little rooms inside once provided shelter for peasants and their livestock, brief respite from the hard labour of farming.

Shelter from invaders too; being at the easternmost point of Italy and with ample coastal exposure, Puglia has long been a target for invaders.

The story of this land is closely entwined with the history of the Saracen invasions and the sacking of Otranto in particular - more than a thousand Catholics were beheaded, their remains now carefully guarded in Otranto Cathedral in reliquaries whose size alone disturbs and moves visitors.

There is a fusion of faiths and ideals here, visible in the chiselled white marble of the Romanesque facades, the softer style of the Baroque churches scattered throughout the region and epitomised by the Basilica di Santa Croce in Lecce, with its rose window and Baroque decorations – delicate groupings of flowers, fruit and statues of saints.

There is the Pozzo del Cino (Cino Well) in the archbishop’s garden, a superb example of the Baroque lacework carving, featuring two little angels and soft, ripe pomegranates – symbol of an abundant harvest.

Of equal architectural importance are the many castles and palaces in the region – more than one hundred were constructed in Puglia by the Swabian Emperor, Federico II (1194-1250), the last Emperor of the Hohenstaufen line.

A few miles from Gravina di Puglia, on a hillock in the centre of a wheatfield, you can discover the ruins of a manor house, built by Federico II to serve as a hunting lodge. However, the masterpiece of Swabian architecture has to be the Castel del Monte (shown here). Some studies suggest that its octagonal design recalls the eight golden leaves of the ‘Reichkrone’, the imperial crown held in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Imposing defensive towers rise from each of the main castle’s eight corners.

Puglia is partly a land of memories and histories, but is much more besides: a place that needs to be experienced, felt and absorbed. There are hidden treasures here for anyone who longs to feel in touch with an ancient, shared past.