Shelley’s Table in Puglia, Italy
May 7th - May 15th, 2025 (Sold Out)
May 30 - June 7, 2025
Polignano a Mare, Italy
Let’s travel to Puglia, Italy!
Join Shelley on this small group culinary tour to Puglia + Basilicata. Surrounded on all sides by crystal-clear seas, Puglia is a unique combination of ancient history, beautiful craftsmanship, and welcoming locals who love to feed you! On this trip we’ll also spend time in Matera (Basilicata), one of the oldest cities in the world, where we’ll stay in a cave hotel and learn this city’s unbelievable story of triumph against all odds. Our tour will be led by Shelley Wiseman and Susan Guerra, a wine professional and the owner of Via Del Vino Food and Wine Tours. Susan, who lives in Italy, has family ties to Puglia and will introduce you to the locals she knows for a peek into daily life in this magical region of Italy.
Our itinerary takes us from the Itria Valley, the land of the mysterious Trulli houses to the sun-kissed Salento and includes a selection of Puglian food and wine tastings, cooking classes, sightseeing, artisan workshop visits, plus free time to wander on your own or relax by the pool.
To soak in the history that Puglia has to offer we’ve chosen to stay in charming properties that include a fortified Masseria surrounded by centuries-old olive groves, an ancient cave hotel carved into the "sassi" of Matera, and a welcoming boutique hotel in the historic center of Lecce.
Day-By-Day Itinerary:
Day 1 (Wednesday, May 7 or Friday, May 30th, 2025): Arrival in Puglia
Today is your arrival day at our beautiful Masseria in the Itria Valley. This historical manor farm has been transformed into a boutique accommodation surrounded by ancient olive trees and gardens. It will be our home base to explore this beautiful area of Puglia for the next 5 days. Trulli (traditional dry stone huts) enclosed by vineyards and olive groves stretch as far as the eye can see across this valley. From here we’ll visit some of Puglia’s most iconic towns and landscapes.
The closest airport to our accommodation is Brindisi Salento (BDS). Depending on your arrival time, you’ll have time to relax before an evening orientation with snacks followed by dinner.
Meals: Dinner
Day 2: Thursday, May 8 or Saturday May 31st, 2025 The White City of Ostuni + Ancient Olive Groves
After breakfast, we’ll have a Taralli and Foccacia-making lesson at the Masseria. Puglia is known for exceptional foccacia made from ancient wheat. But then there’s Taralli. These crispy rings of heavenly crunchiness are a staple Puglian snack food and are never missing from aperitivo. After our cooking class, and a light lunch of what we have made, we’ll head to Ostuni. This wonderful medieval village is full of narrow streets and whitewashed houses laid out in a maze reminiscent of an Arab casbah. You’ll have free time to walk in the old town, with its picturesque views, artisan shops, and little cafes. For those interested, a small archeological museum in Ostuni tells the story of a pregnant Stone Age woman (the eternal Earth Mother), whose 28,000-year-old remains were discovered in a nearby cave. After free time in Ostuni, we’ll visit a nearby organic farm surrounded by ancient olive trees for an olive oil tour and tasting. We’ll learn about life on the farm, and how to taste olive oil with a critical approach before an aperitivo of organic produce from the farm and nearby villages.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Aperitivo
Cooking Experience: Foccacia and Tarrali
Food Experience: Professional Olive Oil Tasting
Day 3: Friday May 9 or Sunday, June 1st, 2025 Grottaglie + Martina Franca
Today we’ll go to Grottaglie, a town with a ceramics district where pottery wheels turn ceaselessly in more than 50 craft shops. We’ll visit one of Susan’s friends, a local artisan, Massimo. He’ll give us a tour of his nearby house, and you’ll hear the true story of a dream come true that has transformed his house into a defacto museum!
After a bit of free time to shop, we’ll head to Martina Franca where we’ll learn to prepare juicy, mouth-watering “bombette” a delicious meat and cheese “involtini” that is a famous BBQ/ street food in the Itria Valley. After our cooking class/lunch, we’ll head back to our Masseria to relax by the pool or, time permitting, make an impromptu stop in another characteristic town.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Cooking Experience: Bombette
Day 4: Saturday May 10 or Monday, June 2nd, 2025 Polignano a Mare
Today we’ll travel to the striking clifftop town of Polignano a Mare. This picturesque village, known for its dramatic cliffs, affords stunning panoramas of the Adriatic Sea. At the port, we’ll embark on a boat to explore the sea caves hidden underneath the town. As the boat ducks in and out of the caves, imagine the centuries of smugglers who used them to hide their goods. On this boat trip, there will be a chance for a swim for those who would like to take a dip in the crystal blue waters of the Adriatic. A light aperitif will also be served on board.
The town is an absolute must-see and is home to some of the best seafood restaurants in the area. Indulge in a seafood lunch before taking a walk through town and tasting some of the delicious artisan gelato for which the town is famous. In the afternoon we’ll return to the Masseria to relax before dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5: Sunday May 11 or Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025 Alberobello with a local!
After breakfast, we’ll visit Alberobello, in the heart of the “Murgia dei Trulli”. A lovely spread of pinnacles announces Alberobello’s characteristic historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The old town center here is entirely composed of trulli, the traditional drystone huts capped by conical-shaped, bare-stone roofs. Crosses, pierced hearts, and zodiac signs decorate the roofs, maintaining the air of mystery that surrounds them. We’ll have a visit here with Susan’s energetic friend, Mimmo who grew up among the trulli. Mimmo is now a local tour guide and enoteca owner with all things Alberobello coursing through his veins!!! After our tour, we’ll have lunch in the private garden of one of his trullo homes. We’ll also have time to explore the town and its many artisan boutiques before we return to our Masseria with free time to relax before dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6: Monday May 12 or Wednesday June 4th, 2025 Gioia del Colle + Matera
Today we’ll check out and head to Matera, another must-see city in the neighboring region of Basilicata. Along the way, we’ll stop in the Gioia del Colle DOC wine zone for a tasting, tour, and lunch at Cantine Polvanera Winery. The winery, with its cellar, excavated into 8 meters of limestone rock, is surrounded by a singular countryside, with typical dry stone walls, downy oaks, and vineyards. It derives its name from the Puglian dialect word, “POLVAGNOR” the name given to the peasants who once produced coal here and whose skin was often dirtied by a layer of coal dust (polvere). After lunch, we’ll head to Matera to overnight in the Sassi district, the part of Matera made up of ancient cave dwellings that are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We’ll check into our hotel which is partially constructed from these very caves before an afternoon tour followed by free time for dinner on your own with suggestions.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Wine Tasting Experience
Day 7: Tuesday May 13 or Thursday, June 5th, 2025 Matera & Lecce
Before departing Matera, we’ll have free time to wander, shop the many artisan boutiques or join an optional multimedia presentation given by FAI about the fascinating history of the Sassi di Matera. You’ll enjoy lunch on your own before an afternoon departure for Lecce. Once in Lecce, we’ll check in to our hotel, Palazzo Sant'Anna, in the historic center for free time to relax before & “aperitivo” in the garden of our hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, Aperitivo
Day 8: Wednesday May 14 or Friday, June 6th, 2025 Lecce: Artisans, Food, Wine and Pizzica
This morning we’ll have an optional visit to a local papier-maché atelier. This craft has been practiced for centuries in Lecce, and the studio is owned by three brothers, the latest artisans in the Riso family of multi-generational craftsmen. Afterward, you’ll have free time to wander with lunch on your own. In the late afternoon, we’ll visit the local market with Susan’s friend, and local chef, Gianna, then have a mozzarella-making and cooking class. Our cooking class will include orecchiette, Puglia’s most famous pasta. We’ll dine on the fruits of our labor and end the evening with a local specialty that is something not-to-be-missed while in Puglia.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Cooking Experience: Mozzarella and Burata making, Orrecchiette Pasta, other seasonal items.
Day 9: Thursday May 15 or Saturday, June 7th, Departure from Puglia
Today is your departure day. After breakfast at our hotel, we'll say arrivederci until our next adventure in La Bel Paese.
Please Note: Our Puglia tour uses charming historic properties with a mix of rooms that are all unique and may vary in size and amenities. Rooms are allocated on a first-come first-served basis. Single supplement rooms are limited. Please let us know if you need twin beds
What’s Included:
8 Nights Accommodation
We’ll stay in historic properties that include a beautiful Masseria surrounded by ancient olive groves, a cave hotel in the Sassi of Matera, and a boutique hotel in Lecce. All 4 single rooms are taken. There is one shared room left that would work for friends sharing or a couple. Although the shared rooms have only one bathroom, they are apartment-type suites with separate areas for sleeping. One area has a double bed and the other has a pull-out, double sleeper.
Only 1 Double Occupancy Room Left!
About The Double Occupancy Room: Double rooms at our accommodations are not "standard-sized," small rooms. They are great for friends traveling together who want to share.
Transportation
Transportation for all daily activities is included via luxury, air-conditioned mini coach.
Daily Breakfast
Daily breakfast is made with fresh, local products.
Lunches & Dinners
5 lunches, 6 dinners, and 2 “aperitivi” & all include wines.
Food & Wine Experiences
Visit a winery in Gioa del Colle. Taste Extra Virgin Olive Oil from centuries old trees. Make fresh mozzarella and orecchiette at a cooking class in Lecce. Make taralli and foccacia at our Masseria.
Guided Tours
Private guided tours in Alberobello and Matera include all entrance fees.
Artisan Visits
Visit a papier-mâché studio in Lecce and a ceramics studio in Grottaglie. Have free time to shop the many artisan boutiques along our journey.
What’s not included…
Airfare
The closest airport is Brindisi Salento (BDS).
Airport Transfers (Can be arranged upon request for an additional cost.)
Optional gratuities
