Travel to the south of Italy with writer Irvina Lew for a culinary adventure and visit to Puglia where what’s seen is as appetizing as what’s eaten.

After an hour-long flight from Rome, we arrived in Apulia (aka Puglia) on the south-east heel of Italy’s “boot” and were driven from the airport in Brindisi to Borgo Egnazia. The 30-mile coastal drive north on the flat, two-lane autostrada followed the stark, rugged shores of the Adriatic Sea. That vista, in October 2017, incorporated windswept trees, scraggy shrubs, occasional clusters of white houses with flat roofs and long stretches of silvery-hued, centuries-old, olive groves. I literally dream about that region during this stay-at-home pandemic period, and writing about the memory raises my spirit.

Where to stay in Puglia

When Borgo Egnazia launched, in May 2010, the exclusive, newly-constructed, pedestrian village-like, five-star golf and spa resort appeared as if it were an ancient Apulian walled village; indeed, it’s built, just as they were, of tuffa, the dazzling-white, local limestone.

Inside La Corte, the 63-room main building, the vaulted entry welcomed us with a series of straw baskets filled with seasonal apples. The contemporary, white-on-white décor features wall hangings throughout, notably everyday items used by farmers and fishermen; even the newly-produced decorative items are reminiscent of the rural region. Smartly-designed guest rooms are also in white, from stone walls to furniture and canopied beds; they feature an up-to-date television-entertainment system, a modern bathroom and lovely views from either a private garden or balcony. Outside, pathways lead to Il Borgo–with it’s a central piazza and 92 casettas on narrow streets–and Le Ville, where 28, two-story multi-roomed villas each have private pools and gardens.

The hotel’s mission celebrates Puglian culinary heritage: produce is about 80% home-grown–including melanzana (eggplant), carciofi (artichoke), Friggitelli peppers and Regina, San Marzana and Pomodorini tomatoes; Podolica beef comes from nearby Bari and fish, such as spigola (sea bass) and merluzzo (cod) are all locally sourced. Recognizable dishes, including braciole, gazpacho, lasagna and parmigiana emerged on menus; less familiar ones included panzerotti (fried dough resembling ravioli, but stuffed with tomato and mozzarella) and taralli (dry, round pretzel-like biscuits).

Executive Chef Domingo Schingaro oversees the resort restaurants assuring that the perfect products are minimally transformed: pasta and pizza appeared from the open kitchen of Mia Cucina, the casual trattoria; live chef stations add to Il Cortile menu and rustic traditional dishes predominated at La Frasca, including a fresh tomato soup topped with burrata and a simple sauce made with a few flawless flavors: Puglian extra virgin olive oil, a clove of garlic, San Marzano DOC tomatoes, some ripped basil leaves, a touch of sugar and salt. At Due Camini, the resort’s Michelin-star restaurant, the fixed menu showcased contemporary-creations.

Here, Wine Experience Manager, Giuseppe Cupertino, introduced paired regional wines: D’Arapri Metodo Classico Rosé Brut San Severo and Rampone Minutolo Valle d’Itria, Leone de Castris Five Roses from Salento and Gianfranco Fino Es Primitivo di Manduria. I sampled many, from Spumante to Moscato di Trani, the local dessert wine. Puglia, a major Italian grape producing region, is known for its popular, fruity-sweet Primitivo, Negroamaro and Verdeca, (the best white wine grape in the red-dominated region). Some Apulian wines have earned tre bicchieri (three glasses), the Gambero Rosso guide’s highest prize. And, a multitude of winemakers blend Pugliese grapes with their local varietals to enhance wines from other regions.

The breakfast buffet is presented on a series of white, wooden tables, including one displaying regional cheese specialties: from the most typical Puglian cheese, burrata, a mozzarella-like sack filled with curds and rich cream, to fresh mozzarella braids, rounds of baby mozzarella and tubs of fresh or pungent, aged ricotta. Locally-sourced breads, warm pastries, hot egg dishes, house-made smoked salmon, chef-made preserves, platters of fruits and vegetables appear; plus, a self-serve juice bar and a staffed station for made-to-order entrées.

We also savored a special al fresco lunch at the 18-hole San Domenico Golf Club, reached on foot. Mimina, the former Melpignano family chef, is the Massaia, (homemaker-cook); she prepared a fabulous Focaccia–dressed with cherry tomatoes, olive oil and oregano–Orecchiette with turnip tops, Panzerotti, sautéed vegetables, mozzarella cheese, artichoke salad and a sponge cake with custard cream. Still, the highlight of my culinary pleasures was the chef-run cooking class where three guests learned to make fresh pasta, and I struggled to shape the individual, ear-shaped orecchiette.

The family ownership is dedicated to benessere (well-being); so, they established a comprehensive spa complex and program, which includes water therapies favored throughout the Mediterranean world. Each afternoon, we arrived at the 30,000-square foot, Vair Spa in time for our 5pm spa appointments. The two-level sanctuary houses a relaxation lounge, a beauty area with a nail lab and the signature Roman Baths, part of a wet area with a sauna, steam bath and ice fountain. There’s a Spa bistro, a comprehensive gym and fitness studio and a heated, indoor pool, which adds to outdoor swimming facilities. The 11 treatment rooms are staffed by a carefully curated staff of wellness experts—including a musician-psychologist, an artist-actor dance therapist and dedicated masseuses, aestheticians and therapists, who walk barefoot and are dressed in Roman-like garb. Local olive oil–an excellent, vitamin-rich moisturizer–is an intrinsic product ingredient used in personalized services. (My body scrub incorporated a paste of brown sugar and honey added to the olive oil, which was thinned and warmed with a bit of hot water.)

We also had the buona fortuna to dine, spa and overnight, less than two miles away at Borgo’s sister property: Masseria San Domenico Spa-Thalasso and Golf Resort, the San Domenico Hotel Group’s, a five-star boutique hotel, also affiliated with Leading Hotels of the World, which is also owned by the Melpignano family. The resplendently restored 14^th-century, masseria, (fortified farm-house) sits on an estate that produces its own olio extra virgine from 1000 olive trees. Formerly, the Melpignano family’s forever vacation home, the stone structure is topped with a centerpiece, a Templar tower tall enough to spot invaders from the nearby Adriatic Sea; and, its ground floor houses the dining room, a lounge and an intimate bar where I sipped a local primitivo, Bombino bianco, Le Valli, by Alberto Longo. The barman served emblematic snacks: sliced and fried broad beans, roasted almonds and olives. Pugliese fare also dominates the dinner menu, from which I ordered grilled Adriatic Sea Bass from the spa’s special Mediterranean Diet menu; the dish was presented in superb simplicity: topped with diced tomatoes, capers and herbs and served alongside grilled zucchini and eggplant slices.

The Thalassotherapy spa—with its soaring indoor pool facing the sea—houses 40 of the 47 accommodations in a separate, two-story building, located across the piazza. My room opened to an outside patio and reached the spa in, perhaps, ten footsteps. I enjoyed a seaweed wrap, a soak in a Thalgojet hydrotherapy tub and a swim in the heated pool, during my much, much-too-short visit.

Where to explore in Puglia

One morning, we set out by car to visit Alberobello, one of the hilltop, medieval città bianche (white towns); it seemed as if we passed every ancient olive grove in Puglia, (the region accounts for half of Italy’s olive production). We were en route to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, where 1500 iconic Trulli lure tourists to the Itria Valley. These Trulli are ancient cylindrical limestone houses with conical stone roofs, each topped with symbolic individualized caps and constructed without mortar, until 1797.

En route back, we stopped in historic Polignano a Mare, where a statue honors the town hero: Domenico Modugno, who wrote and first performed the famous song Volare, here. From the bridge, we looked down to the ravine between terraced hillsides to the teensy beach, flanked by tall, stone sea walls. Then, we strolled under a Roman archway, through a small square beyond the clock tower and along narrow streets with newly-transformed mini-hotels and residences (one brightly painted with a cranberry-colored façade, turquoise doors and melon-painted trim), to lunch within the ancient walls. The aptly-named Ristorante Antiche Mura, is topped by a domed, brick ceiling; and, whole fish on ice topped a table near the entry. The popular, family-owned eatery served us a traditional Pugliese meal accompanied by a Così rosé from Polignano. It started with a runny Stracciatella cheese, a white bean and chicory salad and an octopus salad “alla Catalana” on rocket, with red onions and Fiascetto tomatoes followed. The Carpaccio di Tonno (tuna) was dressed with basil-topped olive oil and the curvy Torchietti pasta was studded with giant shrimp and lobster.

If I get to return for a stay in Puglia, next visit I’ll also arrange to lunch in a Trullo, learn to make ricotta in a farmhouse kitchen and, perhaps, get to harvest grapes or olives. For sure, the region’s impeccable indigenous ingredients offer an abundance of Apulian gastronomic adventures.

— Story by Irvina Lew