Puglia Best Experienced With Locals

[Steve Mirsky]

Located right in the heel of Italy's boot, Puglia's 6 provinces showcase more than 500 miles of lapis-lazuli coastline on both the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. Puglia is also Italy's top olive oil producer, celebrated for its red Salice Salentino wine, orecchiette(ear-shaped pasta), and abundantly fresh seafood dishes like pignata di polpo, a delightfully fresh squid stew.

It's only fitting to explore this off-the-well-trodden tourist track region by forgetting self-made itineraries and going with a small independently run

tour group that’s owned by lifetime locals. Since gastronomy is a time-honored tradition here, what better way to experience the food than to join a grandmother in her kitchen and learn how to make tagliatelle.

All guests who sign up with YLTOUR can pick accommodations ranging from hotels, country houses, farms, luxury B&Bs, and inns as their home base with daily excursions to Salento and the Itria Valley. In addition to cooking classes in private kitchens, YLTOUR owner Ylenia Sambati has been promoting

Puglia's healthy foods and delicious culinary traditions since 2000 by personally tailoring individual itineraries to include:

• wine tours and tasting

• pastry and pizza making classes with the region's top chefs

• papier maché and pottery decoration classes

• local food market & cheese farm visits to source fresh scamorza, ricotta, primo sale, & mozzarella

• hands-on participation in olive and grape harvesting

• pizzica dance workshops

Ylenia's goal is to completely immerse you in the local heritage behind what makes Puglia's healthy rustic food, family- friendly atmosphere, and natural beauty so intriguing.

Photos courtesy of YLTOUR and viaggioadriatico.it .