Grand Tour Apulia & Basilicata - The 5 Senses 2026-27

Day-by-day itinerary

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1. 1Day 1Rome – Trani, “the cathedral rising from the sea” – Castel del Monte…

   Bari, 480 km. Departure from your chosen meeting point – lunch at leisure – in the afternoon, a guided visit of Trani (the Romanesque cathedral “rising from the sea”, dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Pilgrim) and of Castel del Monte, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Frederick II’s castle, built on the model of the Palatine Chapel in Aachen and inscribed on the World Heritage List) – tasting of Moscato di Trani at a wine bar – arrival in Bari – dinner at the hotel – after dinner, Bari by night: a walking tour with the tour leader – overnight stay.

2. 2Day 2Bari, “the labyrinthine old town” – Polignano a Mare – Martina Franca…

   80 km. Breakfast at the hotel – in the morning, a guided visit of Bari (the historic centre with the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, a walking tour through Bari Vecchia, the Cathedral of Saint Sabinus and the Swabian Castle – seen from the outside) – street-food lunch at leisure in Bari, where the specialities to seek out include focaccia barese, sgagliozze and octopus rolls – in the afternoon, a guided visit of Polignano a Mare (a walking tour through the lanes of the old town, with the chance to enjoy some excellent artisan gelato) – free time for shopping – arrival in Martina Franca – dinner at the hotel – after dinner, a walking tour with the tour leader – overnight stay.

3. 3Day 3Alberobello, “the trulli, a UNESCO World Heritage Site” – Martina…

   Franca, “the heart of the Itria Valley”, 30 km. Breakfast at the hotel – in the morning, a guided visit of Alberobello with its celebrated trulli, a UNESCO World Heritage Site – traditional lunch – in the afternoon, a guided visit of Martina Franca (a fourteenth-century town renowned for its Baroque architecture) – visit to a producer of Capocollo di Martina Franca DOP, with a tasting – return to the hotel in the evening – dinner at the hotel – evening at leisure – the tour leader is at guests’ disposal – overnight stay.

4. 4Day 4Ostuni, “the white city” – Lecce, “the Florence of the South”, 100 km

   Breakfast at the hotel – in the morning, a guided visit of Ostuni, the “white city”, and an extra virgin olive oil tasting at a working mill – traditional lunch at a masseria producing its own dairy specialities – in the afternoon, a guided visit of Lecce, known as “the Florence of the South” (the Basilica of Santa Croce, the Church of the Gesù, San Matteo, the Cathedral, Sant’Irene, along with a wealth of patrician palaces, the Theatre and the Amphitheatre) – visit to a traditional Lecce papier-mâché workshop – free time for shopping – dinner at the hotel – after dinner, Lecce by night: a walking tour with the tour leader – overnight stay.

5. 5Day 5Galatina, “cookery class”, and Nardò, “between art and anthropology”, 70 km

   Breakfast at the hotel – full-day guided excursion – in the morning, transfer to a masseria for a cookery class built around a traditional Apulian lunch, which we then sit down to enjoy together – visit of Galatina (the magnificent Basilica of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, dating from 1391, a masterpiece of Gothic art with frescoes of the Umbrian-Marche school – a monument that alone is worth the journey) and of Nardò, one of the capitals of Italian and European Baroque (a splendid Romanesque-Norman cathedral, the exuberant, almost theatrical Piazza Salandra, and the unmissable Museum of Prehistory, home to the extraordinary milk teeth whose discovery proved that Homo sapiens sapiens was present in the Grotta del Cavallo 40,000 to 45,000 years ago) – in the afternoon, a stop for a pasticciotto with coffee and almond milk – return to the hotel in the evening – dinner at the hotel – evening at leisure – the tour leader is at guests’ disposal – overnight stay.

6. 6Day 6Gallipoli, “the beautiful city”, and Otranto, “the martyr city”, 160 km

   Breakfast at the hotel – in the morning, a guided visit of Gallipoli, “the beautiful city”, a characterful place where fishermen’s cottages stand alongside patrician palaces – visit to the fish market, where you can sample delicious hot fried seafood and the celebrated Gallipoli prawn, served strictly raw – street-food lunch at leisure – in the afternoon, a guided visit of Otranto (the Romanesque cathedral of 1480, home to the famous Pantaleone mosaic, the Ossuary of the Martyrs canonised by Pope Benedict XVI, and the crypt below, raised on the remains of an ancient Roman tribunal) – return to the hotel in the evening – dinner at the hotel – evening at leisure – the tour leader is at guests’ disposal – overnight stay.

7. 7Day 7Lecce – Brindisi, “the ancient city at the end of the regina viarum”…

   Taranto – Matera, 180 km. Breakfast at the hotel – departure for Brindisi – guided visit of this ancient city, the terminus of the Appian Way, settled by the Greeks even before the Romans, the port from which the Crusades set sail and a centre of naval power and maritime trade, thanks in no small part to the roads built here, the Via Appia and the Via Traiana (its highlights include the Virgil Staircase with its Roman columns, the little Temple of San Giovanni al Sepolcro, and the beautiful cathedral where the marriage of Frederick II of Swabia and Isabella of Brienne was celebrated on 9 November 1225) – street-food lunch at leisure – in the afternoon, a guided visit of Taranto (historic centre) – arrival in Matera in the evening – dinner at the hotel – overnight stay.

8. 8Day 8Matera, “the City of the Sassi”, 30 km

   Breakfast at the hotel – a full day given over to a guided visit of Matera, the “City of the Sassi”, ancient cave dwellings now inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Piazza Vittorio Veneto, a walk through the Sassi districts of Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano, the Cathedral of the Madonna della Bruna, the Palombaro Lungo cistern, a rock-hewn church, and a cave house where the daily life of our ancestors comes vividly back; at Petrapenta, 14 km from Matera, a visit to the Crypt of Original Sin, known as the “Sistine Chapel” of rupestrian painting) – free time for shopping – lunch in a traditional restaurant – return to the hotel in the evening – dinner at the hotel – after dinner, Matera by night: a walking tour with the tour leader – overnight stay.

9. 9Day 9The Lucanian Dolomites – Castelmezzano and Pietrapertosa, “the Arabata”…

   200 km. Breakfast at the hotel – full-day guided excursion – a visit to the villages at the heart of the Lucanian Dolomites: Castelmezzano (every corner of the village keeps the stories of the peoples and events that passed through it, from the ruins of the Norman-Swabian castle to historic palaces of remarkable beauty with their finely carved doorways, churches and little chapels, and stairways climbing ever higher through the village) and Pietrapertosa (its name means “pierced stone” and comes from the great perforated crag above it; in the highest part of the village lies the Arabata, the oldest quarter, which reveals its origins in all their spectacular beauty) – lunch in a traditional restaurant – return to the hotel in the evening – dinner at the hotel – after dinner, Altamura by night: an excursion by private coach and a walking tour with the tour leader – overnight stay.

10. 10Day 10Matera – Melfi, “Frederick II’s castle” – Rome, 450 km

    Breakfast at the hotel – departure for Melfi – guided visit of Melfi (Frederick II’s castle, historic centre) – lunch at leisure – tasting of local produce – onward for the return journey – arrival in the evening. Please note: the scheduled visits may be rearranged between days according to museum opening times or operational requirements, but the programme remains unchanged.