Cycling Puglia’s White Villages

Highlights: Welcome drink, bike fitting, dinner in the “Sassi” of Matera

Arrive in Matera, unique in all of Italy for the cave dwellings that ring the central city. Inhabited by refugee clerics and monks from Greece and the Balkans during the 8th and 9th centuries, the cave churches and domestic dwellings carved into the town’s calcarenite or semi-sandstone cliffs at one time housed as many as 25,000 people. Today, the churches and caves are preserved as a World Heritage Site as being the “most outstanding, intact example of a cave-dwelling settlement in the Mediterranean.” Settle into our hotel and enjoy our welcome dinner after fitting bikes.

Highlights: Guided walk of the Matera’s “sassi”, Appian Way

We’ll start the morning with a loop ride exploring Matera’s surroundings. Sights along the way include the fortified Massaria Jesce, which was an ancient Roman “post office” on the Appian Way – one of the most important Roman Roads. We’ll also visit the cave crypt of San Michele Arcangelo with frescoes dating to the 14th century. This afternoon features a guided walk exploring Matera’s history including a typical sassi, a cave dwelling house. Fodor’s has described the sassi as “one of the most unique landscapes in Europe,” on this tour we’ll gain a better understanding for the living conditions of what is believed to be one of the first human settlements in Italy.

Highlights: Trulli, vineyards, mozzarella demo and tasting

Today we shuttle from Matera to Gioia del Colle, famous for one of Frederic II castles. Start cycling and enjoy a ride through olive groves and vineyards on the way to the “Valle d’Itria” which is the heart of Puglia’s trulli region. Trulli are conical shaped dwellings unique to this part of Italy. Originally used as storage sheds for farmers, they quickly became popular as temporary shelters. Our destination is the small but vibrant town of Locorotondo, our home for the next two nights. At lunch together, we’ll learn more about and sample the fresh mozzarella, burrata and stracciatella for which Puglia is renowned. This afternoon get lost in the whitewashed maze of lanes and historic buildings towering over them.

Highlights: Guided tour of Alberobello and trulli

We’ll pedal to the iconic “trulli” town of Alberobello where we’ll have a guided tour to learn more about these conical shaped buildings and the people who built them. Take time to explore this unique town and have lunch on your own before you bicycle back to Locorotondo.

Highlights: Ostuni – La cittá bianca

Our ride today will take you first through vineyards and olive groves to the whitewashed town of Ostuni. Our hotel is located in the center of this amazing village which spans three hilltops and is crowned by a Gothic cathedral. Destroyed by Hannibal during the Punic Wars in 1st and 2nd Centuries BC, Ostuni was rebuilt by the Greeks and takes its name from them as “Astu néon or “new town”. Rebuilt by the Normans in the 10th Century, Ostuni then flourished during the Italian Renaissance under Duchess Isabella of Bari. This is an imposing and beautiful city from afar and within.

Highlights: Ancient olive mill, the beach, Carovigno

We’ll take a loop ride from our hotel today to the Adriatic Sea coast. The first stop will be to visit an underground olive press dating to pre-Roman times and used until the 19th C. Our ride continues on the Via Appia Traiana just before reaching the Adriatic Coast. Built by order of the Roman Emperor Traiano in the 2nd century A.D., the Via Traiana connected Rome to Brindisi, one of the most important ports for commerce with the Middle East. We’ll parallel the coast today with a possible dip at a local beach before continuing to the medieval town of Carovigno and back to our hotel.

Highlights: Buon viaggio!

Whether you are headed to Brindisi, Bari or Rome we hope you enjoy your travel or trip home. Thanks for joining us in Puglia.