All food, no fixed plan
Four days in the Valle d'Itria, built purely around eating and inland Puglia's culture: trulli, white hill towns, a working masseria and a Michelin-starred table.
Arrival, the Murgia & a first fornello
Where you're staying
Masseria Tagliente, a working farm since 1849 and still one today: free-roaming Murgese horses graze the 187-hectare estate and come to drink each day at the old stone cistern.
- Four rooms, homemade breakfast, table d'hôte dinner with the family available on request
Photos: masseriatagliente.it
Since 1849
Masseria Tagliente has been a working farm for nearly two centuries. Its free-roaming Murgese horses still graze the same 187-hectare estate and drink from the same stone cistern.
Today
Settle in slowly: walk the oak woodland, watch for the Murgese horses at the cistern, see the small family chapel.
- Early evening, a first stroll through Martina Franca's baroque old town: Palazzo Ducale, the Basilica di San Martino, the passeggiata down Corso Vittorio Emanuele
Dinner
Ai Tre Punti, Contrada Figazzano, Cisternino: a traditional fornello pronto singled out by Passione Gourmet as one of the very few left where the tradition hasn't been diluted for tourists.
- Capocollo di Martina Franca and pollo ruspante ripieno are the dishes to order
Farm mornings, white balconies, gastronomic dinner
Today
Breakfast at the masseria, morning at the stables, a walk on the woodland trails.
Today
Late morning, 25 minutes to Locorotondo, one of Italy's officially recognised Borghi più belli, to walk the cummerse quarter, the town's distinctive whitewashed twin-pitched-roof houses, with a balcony view over the Itria valley.
- A tasting of Locorotondo DOC Verdeca at a small enoteca
Afternoon
Afternoon in Cisternino's historic centre: the chianche-paved lanes, Porta Grande's Norman-Swabian tower.
Dinner
Anima Ristorante, Locorotondo, opened 2022 by chef Vito Stanisci: an intimate stone dining room pairing Apulian tradition with contemporary technique.
Photos: animaristorante.it
Flagship day
Ceglie Messapica & the trip's special-occasion table
Day 3
The day
Check out of Masseria Tagliente; 20-minute transfer to check in at Trulli dei Pini, Cisternino: four interconnected 19th-century trulli, heated pool, wood-fired oven, the whole property to yourselves.
- Not on the booking sites: we book it direct with the owner, Antonia Calella
Photos: trullideipini.com
Built to be dismantled
Trulli were traditionally built dry, without mortar, so a household could pull the roof down overnight to dodge a Kingdom of Naples tax on new settlements. They stayed technically illegal until 1797.
Culture & sights
Drive 20 minutes to Ceglie Messapica, Puglia's città del cibo: the historic centre, almond orchards, artisan bakeries turning out mostaccioli and sospiri.
Lunch
Cibus, a 15th-century convent, chef-owner Lillino Silibello, Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Photos: ristorantecibus.it
Dinner: the special-occasion table
Antonella Ricci – Vinod Sookar (formerly Al Fornello da Ricci): one Michelin star held continuously since 1996, the longest unbroken run of any restaurant in Puglia.
- Apulian tradition read through Indian Ocean spice and technique
Since 1996
This is the longest unbroken run of any Michelin star in Puglia, nearly three decades on the same table.
A slow morning, then Brindisi
This morning
No reservations on purpose: the private pool and garden at Trulli dei Pini are the point.
- A short walk into Cisternino's centre for coffee and a stop at a local salumeria for capocollo, burrata, and taralli to take on the road
- Transfer to Brindisi Airport, roughly 50 minutes
Build this trip
We will start from this one and reshape it around your dates, your group and your pace. Nothing here is a fixed package.
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