Apulia 2024

The Mercure Hotel Villa Romanazzi Carducci**** awaits you in Bari, a hotel situated in a park complex with all its amenities. We will meet up in the hotel lobby at 5 pm and will then take a guided round tour through the old city with the Basilica San Nicola. The old city in Bari has been extensively restored over recent years and now shines in all its new glory. After the city round tour, we will end the day during our first joint dinner in the old city of Bari.

In the morning we will take the train to Polignano a Mare. The lovely village is famous for its cliffs and beautiful views. We will then cycle on paths lined with small walls through olive and almond tree groves to Castellana Grotte. We will then enjoy bruschetta and lasagne, before one of the most beautiful stalactite caves in Italy awaits us. Our route then leads further through the picturesque landscape. The Grand Hotel la Chiusa di Chietri**** awaits us today, which is peacefully located in a spacious park complex. We will enjoy dinner in the well-known hotel restaurant.

The first UNESCO world heritage of our journey awaits us this morning: The Trulli capital Alberobello. Over a thousand whitewashed houses with conical roofs, consisting of just one room, adorn the hilly landscape. We will take our time exploring the small city. Small white stone walls, lined with occasional Trulli, in the midst of endless olive groves are characteristic of our next stage. We leave the Itria valley, the heartland of the Trulli and will reach Martina Franca, a masterpiece of Apulian baroque. There is enough time to stroll through the small streets and hidden alleys. After a slight up and downhill route, we will be rewarded with a long schuss and will reach the small village of Crispiano. We will then travel by bus to Matera (Duration approx. 1 ½ hours). Here we will be welcomed by the Hotel La Suite Matera + Spa***** (Doppelübernachtung), an elegant house in a prime location (two overnight stays). The famous Sassi can be reached in a few minutes walking distance. We will then enjoy our dinner together.

In the morning we will dedicate ourselves entirely to the second UNESCO World Heritage Site of our trip: Matera. The European cultural capital of 2019 is extraordinarily beautiful and has always been an attraction for visitors. Medieval chroniclers named the Sassi, the old city of Matera, the mirror of the starry sky, while the Italian author Carlo Levi preferred the comparison to the funnel-shaped hell of Dante. During a guided tour, we will explore the sheer inextricable network of streets, steps, more than a hundred rock churches and countless cave dwellings, modelled out of tufa. In the afternoon we will go on a cycling tour not far from Matera. Our path leads from a small pilgrimage chapel into the deserted but remarkable expanse of the Basilicata region. Alternatively, it is possible to visit one of the many museums on one’s own or to stroll through the countless alleys. We will enjoy dinner in a highly acclaimed restaurant in the old town.

After travelling by bus for approx. half an hour, we will reach the Alta Murgia National Park. Our cycling route leads through lonely, rugged karst landscape. Numerous animals still live here, including falcons, for which Friedrich II set a literary monument in his work De arte venandi cum avibus (Eng. Of the art of hunting with birds). In the afternoon, we will reach the crown of Apulia, the Castel del Monte, the third UNESCO World Heritage Site and another highlight of our cultural cycling tour. To this day, this great creation of Friedrich II will not reveal its secrets. We will elaborately explore the details of the stone crown of Apulia. After visiting the Castel del Monte, we will travel by bus to Giovinazzo (travel dates 1, 2, 3) or to Trani (travel dates 4, 5). In Giovinazzo, we will be welcomed by the Hotel San Martino****, in the old town, and in Trani, we will be residing in the Palazzo Filisio****, not far from the famous cathedral (two overnight stays in Giovinazzo/Trani). We will enjoy dinner together.

We will leave awakening Giovinazzo by train and after travelling for half an hour, we will reach Trani. Here one of the loveliest cathedrals in Apulia awaits us, in an idyllic location on a terrace slightly above the sea. Today our cycling route leads from Trani partly along the water and partly through the olive groves of the hinterland, in a southern direction. We will pass fishing ports such as Bisceglie and Molfetta with the San Corrado cathedral. Our day of cycling ends as we return to Giovinazzo, where we will then end our journey over a joint dinner (With travel dates 4 + 5: train ride from Giovinazzo to Trani at the end of the cycling tour).

After breakfast, we will walk to the Giovinazzo / Trani train station and will travel by train back to Bari. Our journey ends there around 10.30 a.m. at the train station. From there, there are trains departing every half-hour to the airport of Bari.

We gladly assist you on booking additional nights. All prices are on request. Please note, that it can be cheaper, when you book additional nights by yourself.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT EMPEROR FRIEDRICH II.:
Friedrich II. characterised the history of Apulia like no other ruler before or after him. Being the son of the Staufen emperor Heinrich VI. and Konstanze, the daughter of the Norman king Roger II., he inherited an important role in world history. Born in the Marches, brought up in Sicily, the Pope as his legal guardian, and secular rulers in the kingdom as his opponents, his path on the way to becoming Emperor was however a rough journey. Demonised by some as the Anti-Christ and glorified by others as Stupor mundi (wonder of the world), Friedrich II. is still remembered as a great patron of southern Italy. He enjoyed being in Apulia and seems to have felt at home. Numerous harbours and forts were constructed under his leadership. The Staufer erected with the Castel del Monte a monument, which outlasted the downfall of his dynasty and still commemorates him as the “Crown of Apulia” today.