Essential Puglia - Art & architecture in the heel of Italy
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Overview
Highlights
- Fascinating architecture, especially Norman and Baroque
- Exceptionally attractive streetscapes in hilltop towns and coastal cities
- Distinctive, dramatic limestone landscapes
- See also the well preserved Roman theatre
What's this trip about?
Details
Travel Themes
Destinations
Activities
Min Group Size
Max Group Size
Trip includes
- Flights (economy class) on scheduled Alitalia flights (Airbus 32S and Embraer 90)
- Travel by private coach
- Hotel accommodation
- Wine, water and coffee
- All admissions
- All tips and taxes
- The services of the lecturer
Itinerary
Bitonto. Fly at c. 9.00am from London City to Bari via Milan Linate (Alitalia). Drive to Bitonto, which has one of the finest of Romanesque cathedrals in the region, with good sculpture and an Early Christian lower church. Continue to Trani, where the first three nights are spent.
Trani, Castel del Monte. A walk along the harbour of the small city of Trani includes the 12th-century church of Ognissanti and the magically beautiful Romanesque cathedral perched on the waterfront. In the afternoon drive out to Castel del Monte. Situated on an isola...
Monte Sant’Angelo, Santa Maria di Siponto. High on the southern slopes of Monte Gargano sits Monte Sant’Angelo, where the apparition of the Archangel Michael in the 5th century has made the grotto sanctuary a popular destination for pilgrims. The massive castle was st...
Bari. Capital of Puglia, Bari has a wonderful walled mediaeval quarter beside the sea, extensive and unspoilt. The Basilica of San Nicola, begun in 1087, is not only the first but also the greatest of Puglian Romanesque churches; the episcopal throne here is remarkabl...
Martina Franca, Brindisi. Before leaving Martina Franca, see the 17th-century Palazzo Ducale with its fine Baroque façade and the cathedral of San Martino. Possessing the safest natural harbour on the Adriatic, Brindisi has been of intermittent strategic importance fo...
Lecce, Galatina. Lecce is distinguished by an elaborate style of Baroque and Rococo decoration wrought in the soft, honey-coloured tufa of the region. The outstanding examples are the cathedral and the church of Santa Croce. See also the well preserved Roman theatre. ...
Casarano, Gallipoli, Otranto. Explore the Salentine Peninsula, the southernmost tip of the heel of Italy. Gallipoli was the centre of Byzantine Italy until conquered by the Normans in 1071. The highly picturesque old town is on an off-shore island protruding into the ...
Ostuni. Ostuni is another delightful white-washed hilltop town with bemusingly winding streets. At its centre is a late Gothic cathedral with three fine rose windows. Fly from Bari via Milan Linate, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 8.45pm.
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Dates & Availability
Check Current Availability, prices, specials with Martin Randall Travel.
The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.
Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

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Logistics
What's excluded
- Personal Expenses
Accommodation
Hotel San Paolo al Convento, Trani: a charming 4-star hotel converted from a 15th-century convent, although service and maintenance are not always quite up to standard. Relais Villa San Martino, Near Martina Franca: a converted villa 3 km outside the town. Rooms are tastefully and individually decorated but vary in size. Patria Palace Hotel, Lecce: a stylish 5-star hotel in an excellent location near the church of Santa Croce. Rooms are spacious and elegantly furnished. Single rooms are doubles for sole use throughout.
If you have to cancel your participation on a tour, there would be a charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 57 days before the tour the deposit only is forfeited. Thereafter a percentage of the total cost of the tour will be due:
between 56 and 29 days: 40%
between 28 and 15 days: 60%
between 14 days and 3 days: 80%
within 48 hours: 100%
If you cancel your booking in a double or twin room or cabin but are travelling with a companion who chooses to continue to participate on the tour, the companion will be liable to pay the stipulated single supplement.
We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive written confirmation of cancellation.
All breakfasts and five dinners
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