Why Puglia?

Before our wedding last August, everyone asked, "Where are you going on your honeymoon? When we said Pulgia, confused faces greeted us and then two questions were always asked: Pul-what? and Pul-where?

Pretty much as soon as Shauna and I got engaged, we began thinking about our honeymoon. We thought about New Zealand, Greece, and even Southeast Asia, but it was an article on Puglia, in the south of Italy, (http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-tr-puglia25feb25) that really peaked our interest. As lovers of food, wine, art, history and out of the way places, we began to search for more information on this magical land of Trulli, bread, fish, and five hour siestas and decided we would spend two weeks darting across the heel of the boot.

Southern Italy, until very recently, was a region that time, tourists, and money forgot. The provinces of Campagnia, Calabria, Basilicata, and Puglia were either industrial ports, farms, or wide open lands with Greek, Roman, and Medieval ruins dotting the landscape. Over the past 20 years people began to discover the beauty of the Amalfi Coast and this region was quickly over wrought with tourists an eastern migration began to take shape. Travelers looking for that "next" place to relax in the warm sun found Puglia. (pictured below is an alley way in the town of Trani)

Puglia is the the "heel" of the Italian boot and has the majority of its coast along the bucolic Adriactic Sea. Puglia has had long and storied history. Near the Citta de Pane (Altamura) one can see over 4,000 footprints of dinosaurs dating back over 70 million years. The oldest human remains found in the area date from almost 130,000 years ago and throughout Puglia there are grottos with Neolithic drawings.  There are ruins from the Mesapians, Daunii, Peucetians, and Lucanians (active from around 1700 BC) and there is evidence of trading between these tribes and the Minoans of Crete. Though these long extinct tribes contributed to the beginnings of Puglia, it was the Greeks who brought "civilization". As time marched on the Romans arrived, then the Byzantines, Moors, Normans, Lombards, and many more families who fought over the "bread basket" of Italy until unification in the late 1800's. The ebbs and flows created a storied heritage that is unique and a food culture that is singular. Puglia is as a varied as its history, but several constants remain: the people are genuine, the food is great, and the drivers are crazy. (photo of Egnazia, an ancient town established in 13th century BC by the Mesapians. This photo is of one part of the Via Appia, a vital road linking to Rome.)

One of the many advantages of working in the wine industry is the people you meet. I am very fond of the Tormaresca winery (http://www.tormaresca.it/_Eng/) and their general manager, Francesco Domani. Francesco and I became fast friends - each time he came to San Francisco we would discuss the plans for our trip. Francesco recommended hotels, sights, and restaurants that we could not afford to miss. We decided to take a north to south to central route to make sure that we hit all the major regions of Puglia.

Getting to Puglia is not very easy, at least from Paris and on the cheap. We booked a flight from Charles de Gaulle via Expedia.com.  The best option was Alitalia (worst airline ever!) through Milan with a 4 hour layover. We arrived in Bari via Paris, rented a car and drove to our first stop, Trani. We arrived into Trani around 5 PM and our first adventure of driving on 800 year old streets began. Our first order of business was to find our hotel, Hotel Regia. The hotel was adjacent to the most important attraction in Trani, the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Scala (image at left).We eventually found the cathedral, got swindled for parking and hunted on foot for the hotel. After being trapped in planes, airports, and cars all day we needed a walk around town.

Trani is a very small town which has an amazing amount of history and beauty. Upon our arrival Shauna and I were greeted with a procession for one of Trani's saints, but I could not fully understand which saint it was. We followed the procession for a while with the majority of the town. Once the procession was over we were ready for our first Puglian meal. Our hotel and the Lonely Planet Guide recommended Osteria La Banchina. A port side restaurant that served fish, fish and more fish. Throughout Puglia, as with most of Italy, you eat what is closest in proximity. Since we had not eaten since our frightful plane ride, we were quite famished. We staked out in front of the restaurant until they let us in (at 9 PM). The menu was full of intriguing dishes that neither of us were familiar with. We choose a standard three course meal that started with an anti pasti of raw seafood (crudo). Unlike sushi it generally has salt, pepper and olive oil on it. We then shared a pasta and finished with a whole roasted fish. The food was rustic, simple and pure. We shared a bottle of Primativo (not a great pairing, but it was tasty) a dark medium to full-bodied red that is fruity and spicy (in the US we call it Zinfandel, though the wines taste very different).

The next day we set out to tour the town and meet Francesco, his wife Antonella, and son Frederico (pictured below) for lunch. We met early by Italian standards at 1 PM, at Ristorante sul Mare le Lampare on the south side of Trani along the water. The restaurant is very nondescript from the outside. However, the waiters are all in tuxedos and the gregarious owner was in a three piece suit. Of course when we arrived the restaurant was empty but Francesco comforted us by saying it was not because we were hungry Americans, but because of his 2 1/2 year old son. I think he was just being nice. Once we sat down, the owner and Francesco had a little discussion. When Francesco returned to our table, he said the Chef wanted to "cook" for us - we were told to sit back, relax and enjoy.

Lunch does not describe what we did. It was a feast of epic proportions. We started with the traditional crudo plates, but instead of one for the four of us, there were 6 different plates, each with a different fish or shellfish. There were lobsters, fish, shrimp, sea urchin, mussels and clams. Each one was plump, fresh and mind blowing. After that came the pasta, and not just one, but three. Each time I finished a plate I thought "lunch" was over. After the last pasta with lobster (that I could barely eat) came three whole roasted fish, and even Francesco was frightened by the amount of food. I believe we consumed more than half our body weights. After the whole fish, we halted the procession of food and just asked for espresso. That is when I learned the greatest Italian phrase ever, "Amazza caffe" literally translated as "kill the coffee". I was brought a glass of amaro, a bitter digestivo that some believe aid in digestion. Shauna thinks it just sustains the buzz, but I fall in between. It made me feel a bit less stuffed, or maybe it just numbed the pain. In each of our respective lives we have never voluntarily skipped dinner, this night we did. The next morning, having full digested, we packed our bags and headed north to the Gargano peninsula.

Hotel: Hotel Regia

          P.zza Mons. R.M. Addazi 2 (gia .zza Duomo, 2)

          70059 Trani BA Italy

          0883.584444 telephone

          Rates: 120 to 185 Euro per night

Dinning: Osteria La Banchina

             Via Banchina del Porto 16/18

             70059 Trani BA Itay

             0883.594747

             20 to 25 Euro per person

             Ristorante sul Mare le Lampare

             Lun.re Cristoforo Colombo 50

             70059 Trani BA Italy

             0883.480308

             25 to 35 Euro per person

Comments

[stile mediterraneo]

WOW!! I am really impressed and delighted to read how well you described my region and all its beauties.
I agree with you. Puglia is the perfect place for food and wine lovers.
I organize cooking classes and culinary tours in Puglia and my goal is to show international people how beautiful and ...delicious...Puglia is!
All the best,
Stile Mediterraneo

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