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Alberobello - The city of Trulli - Bee hive shaped buildings from the 16th century. The trulli were built "a secco" - without the use of mortar, only with dry stones on top of each other. To avoid paying the taxes for the houses to the King of Naples, Count Giangirolam Aquaviva D'Aragona ordered his tenants to build trulli "a secco" so that they could destroy them easily in the case of royal inspection. In 1797 Alberobello became an independent town and the trulli became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1996. http://www.sitiunesco.it/index.phtml?id=539
Lecce - Dubbed the Florence of the South, Lecce is quaint and friendly, it has a compact old town of warm sandstone buildings, many of them churches which glow golden in the afternoon sun. The 16th century Basilica of Santa Croce is a classic example of "Leccese Baroque".
Gallipoli - a beautiful historic town, influenced by the Greeks. Go for a walk - starting at the Column of Sant'Oronzo, erected in 1666, and head towards the 15,000 capacity Roman ampitheatre which was discovered beneath the city centre in 1938. Continue to the Via Palmieri where stonemasons have workshops, to Porto Napoli, one of the four city gates. Don't forget to visit the park and its botanical garden.
Castellana Grotto - We are not normally "into" caves, but we did visit these caves one day and found them very impressive - well worth a visit, bring a jumper as the underground temperature can be a little cooler. Discovered in 1938 the Castellana Caves are a magnificent Karst system, they show splendid and multiform stalactites and stalagmites. More information at www.grottedicastellana.it
Zoo Fasano & Fasanoland - A drive thru' Zoo just outside Fasano, they have a great selection of animals and it is great to see them close up. Beside the Zoo is a amusement park - the two are a great way to spend a day. http://www.zoosafari.it/index.php?rubrica=versione_inglese
