Great events, relax and holidays in Puglia: what you can’t miss in the region
The regions of southern Italy are often known for beautiful seaside resorts. Most people choose to spend their holidays in Puglia due to the vast offer of facilities, clubs, and entertainment on the Adriatic Sea coast and the Ionian Sea coast. In addition to the classic famous destinations such as Gargano, Salento, Matera or Alberobello, however, the region offers many other attractions and boasts breathtaking and high-level facilities, also equipped to organize fabulous weddings.
Going on holidays in Puglia, you can also taste excellent typical foods, visit companies of food and wine of the area, attend fashion events and much more.
Among the places to be discovered, I can mention Polignano a Mare, Martina Franca, and Ostuni, small “jewels” where you can find magnificent examples of Romanesque and Baroque architecture.
Luxury hotels for events and holidays in Puglia
Most people associate the symbol of the traditional Apulian building with the so-called “trullo”. Many trulli in the region have been restored to be used as holiday homes, hotels, restaurants and shops. Some resorts, in particular, have flanked the possibility of staying in standard rooms and studios or set up inside the old renovated farmhouses, that of sleeping in trulli without giving up a luxury stay. Fixtures, insulation, comfort, accessories, and design are all very refined.
The ancient village of Tenuta Monacelle
The living stone, the dry stone walls, the pinnacles of the trulli are the characteristics of Tenuta Monacelle’s ancient village in Monopoli. Tenuta Monacelle is located among the olive trees of the Valle d’Itria, and originally, in 1790, it was a convent of San Giuseppe’s Benedictine nuns. In ancient times in the village, composed of 28 trulli, the ordinary rural activities were held. These activities are now evoked during fairs set up in the structure. The baking and cooking of the foods that the nuns distributed to the peasants took place just right in the external oven.
The Tenuta is an enchanted place to stay and it is also perfect to organize an important event. The catering based on respect for the local food and wine tradition can be tasted in the dining rooms inside the trulli, built in the former manger. Another chance to taste the cuisine of the restaurant is during a refreshment in the outdoor gardens or on the terraces or even inside the modern reception hall built taking up the style of adjacent trulli. You can also enjoy the poolside where there’s the chance to set up a dessert buffet rather than a DJ set and a dance area to celebrate at the end of the wedding banquet.
The wine list offers a careful selection while bread and desserts are produced in the Tenuta’s oven. In fact, even the famous master of destination wedding Kevin Lee, who over the last 20 years has managed the weddings of many celebrities worldwide, during the master class organized by Daniela Corti’s Madreperla Event agency in Puglia, said: «I’ve never seen an incredible location like this. Although many world-famous VIPs appreciate Italy as a destination for their weddings and often choose prestigious locations in Tuscany region, today I realize that Puglia has a unique charm and hides locations of unparalleled beauty for a luxury ceremony».
The activities proposed by Tenuta Monacelle
Tasting of local wines and extra virgin olive oil, cooking classes, yoga lessons, sports, and excursions enrich the stay at the hotel for holidays in Puglia in the pursuit of relaxing and good taste. The most requested activities are:
- olive oil tasting,
- collection of cherries, mulberries, figs, and flowers,
- wine and food weekends during spring and autumn on the estate,
- e-bike rides.
The almost one thousand cherry trees of the estate, all organic, as well as giving guests a breathtaking view, are used to create the fragrant toiletries provided within the rooms of those staying in the relais. In spring, among other things, every year each guest is assigned a cherry tree “in custody”, with the chance to take care of collecting its fruits and tasting them.
Hotel restaurant Il Palmento
Not least the resort Il Palmento in Locorotondo, a place also known for the wine of the same name. The relais is made up of trulli where you can stay, a clubhouse where you can take advantage of the tasting days of typical products, a restaurant, swimming pool, tennis and game fields and Spa. The name is inspired by the typical trullo where, during the harvest, the grapes harvested in the vineyards belonging to the village were crushed.
Apulian farms
If you want to give up the trulli, there is an alternative linked to the Apulian tradition: the “masserie” (farms). Restored and developed with the introduction of pools and spas, they can satisfy the most demanding customers.
Il Melograno in Monopoli is the oldest farm in the area and it immediately shows that it’s a 5-star luxury property. This Small Luxury Hotel in Puglia dates back to the 1700s and is part of the Tallia Collection circuit. It includes 41 rooms, a Spa and an excellent restaurant and boasts a real original square, unlike other Apulian farms that built fictitious ones for tourists. In the 5 hectares of land is produced olive oil and cultivated a citrus grove, while inside rooms and suites the furnishings range from different styles, with precious elements of antiques and collectible crafts.
Masseria Torre Pietra in Monopoli is another possible location in Puglia to organize an event. The wide external and internal spaces and the incredible elegance of the structure are suitable for those who plan a party with many guests.
The activity of Masseria Cappella is completely different. It is a farmhouse in Martina Franca with its animal farm, a dairy and a pasta factory. Those who want to discover the secrets of the preparation of typical Apulian products such as the cheeses “caciocavallo podolico” or the “orecchiette” pasta during their holidays in Puglia, can join the cooking classes organized at the property.
Fashion in Puglia
Those who go to Puglia don’t look for Italian excellence only in food and wellness. Puglia region has long been a place of production and creation of numerous fashion collections. In June, the Fashion Weekend takes place every year in Lecce town, which is approaching its twenty-first edition. The show let the public and the press know several emerging and established designers from Southern Italy, in places of great historical prestige of the town.
Moreover, during the last edition of the Milan Fashion Week, which ended last month, an Apulian designer emerged among the collections presented for S/S 2020. Isabella Di Matteo brought much of her homeland in the couture creations called “Woman of Light”, designed for curvy women.
Di Matteo’s production is deeply tied to the tradition of needle and thread and fine fabrics and the award conferred to the stylist by the Italian Chamber of Fashion’s president, Mario Boselli wasn’t a surprise.
In the past, I’ve already talked about another Apulian designer: Terry Calogiuri. She is inspired by Salento, her homeland, for her refined beachwear and sportswear collections.
