Salento: An Off-Season Trip to Southern Puglia
From a converted townhouse in Nardò to pottery shopping in Grottaglie and discovering secluded beaches, the beauty and authenticity of the region are even more apparent away from the summer crowds.
Hi again and Happy New Year! In this first edition of Fellow Travellers, I share our recent October trip to Salento, Southern Puglia—a perfect off-season destination. I’m currently planning our vacations for this year, and if you’re doing the same, I hope this newsletter provides some inspiration and helps with your planning.
Our trip to Puglia actually began in 2021, when we spent a month there in the spring. Our older son had just turned one, my husband took his parental leave, and the pandemic was still ongoing–which meant we could afford a really beautiful house for that prolonged stay at a discounted price. The house was La Casetta, near Ostuni, one of the properties run by Masseria Moroseta. We had such a wonderful time there, thanks in no small part to Alessio, who looked after us and came by whenever the water stopped working to reconnect the well (by the end of our stay, I had learned to do it myself). During that visit, Alessio told us he was renovating a place in his hometown, Nardò, further south, which he was planning to rent out one day. Since then, Casa Piana has been on my mind.
Three and a half years later, we finally returned for a week in mid-October. At first, we hesitated due to the logistics. If you want to avoid a long car journey after the flight, you need to fly into Brindisi to reach Salento, the southern tip of Puglia—but there are no direct flights from Berlin. Although the connecting flight with Swiss Airlines via Zurich went smoothly, the journey still took eight hours door to door—a long trip for just a week in Italy, but well worth it.
When we arrived at Brindisi airport, Alessio messaged me in the old chat from 2021, as if no time had passed. Upon reaching the house, his mother greeted us warmly and gave us a tour. That personal, heartfelt touch makes a huge difference for me when I travel. I love exploring new destinations, but there’s also something very reassuring about returning to a place filled with memories.
Casa Piana exceeded my expectations (and those were already quite high, as all Moroseta accommodations are outstanding in terms of design). Reimagined by Milan-based architects Palomba Serafini, Casa Piana is a townhouse that spans two levels. Ascending steep stairs, you enter through the living room, which is flanked by two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. One of them, which I shared with my younger son, features the most stunning bathtub I have ever seen. Climbing further, you reach the upper floor, where what was once a simple terrace now houses a kitchen enclosed in a glass-and-iron structure. We spent so much time here, mostly home-cooking, as the autumn light was simply beautiful (and eating at restaurants with kids is a topic deserving its own edition of this newsletter). I also loved the mix of Moroccan and Puglian ceramics in the kitchen—more on ceramics in a moment.
Nardò itself, let me put it this way, is a very authentic small Puglian town—I am fairly certain we were the only tourists staying there during our visit. It has a centro storico with a few lovely churches around a small square, and we found it convenient to have everything we needed (a fishmonger, a salumeria, a supermarket) within walking distance. Grocery shopping might be one of my favourite activities when travelling. In and around Nardò, I bought our fruit and vegetables from farmers selling their produce on street corners—either directly from a small truck or right next to the plots of land where they were grown.
We spent a lot of time at café Il Gabbiano, enjoying either pasticciotti (a pastry filled with egg custard) in the mornings or salted pistachio ice cream in the afternoons. There’s another pasticceria called Pilanuova75, where the pastries were even better, though it lacked the tacky 90s interior charm. One day, we drove to Galatina to try the supposedly best pasticciotto in Puglia—or the world—at Pasticceria Andrea Ascalone (who is said to have invented it, although Wikipedia is uncertain). It was still warm and absolutely delicious.
What you will often find in my reviews is a lengthy discourse on the weather. Even though they say you cannot control it, I do my best to try. Especially since we travel a lot off-season, it makes sense to think carefully about weather patterns when choosing a destination and at least manage your expectations. While most of Southern Europe is reliable in July, August, and September, it can be a bit hit-or-miss outside the main summer months. Normally, I monitor different destinations obsessively using weather apps (yes, plural) throughout the year to determine when to go where. (This hasn’t saved me from visiting Copenhagen in August twice, only to be greeted by 19°C and rain.)
So, long story short, when we arrived, it was drizzling at 24°C. Before the weather turned sunny again and we could hit the beaches, our backup plan was a day trip to Grottaglie to buy ceramics. It was our second visit to this small, unassuming town renowned for its artisan ceramics. While we visited different studios last time, this time we parked in front of Nicola Fasano Ceramiche and spent all of our money there. If you can’t make it to Grottaglie, Tambur store in Sweden has the best Fasano selection within Europe (confirmed by Nicola himself in the shop).
When the sun returned, we visited two beaches: Spiaggia Porto Selvaggio and Spiaggia Cittadina in Santa Maria al Bagno. The Porto Selvaggio natural park is an absolute must—it’s breathtakingly beautiful. It takes about half an hour to walk from the parking lot to the beach, but our older son didn’t mind at all, he had so much fun chasing lizards and butterflies (we pushed our younger one in the Yoyo for most of the way). When we arrived at the secluded beach, there was just one other family besides us—dreamy conditions that you would only find in the off-season.
Santa Maria al Bagno, meanwhile, has a beach right in the middle of a picturesque small town, with crystal-clear water.
We also spent half a day in Lecce, wandering the centro storico, stopping by a little market hall for groceries, and enjoying a lovely lunch at Trattoria Le Zie. Back in 2021, we stayed near Ostuni, and I have to admit, I preferred that region slightly. Especially the small town of Ceglie Messapica, which I found charming, and the antique market in Ostuni, which remains unmatched to this day. That said, we didn’t make it to the southernmost tip of the Salento coast this time, which is supposed to be stunning. With only a week, we didn’t want to spend too much time in the car, and the southern coastline was still about an hour away from Nardò.
This trip reminded me just how much I love Italy, after focusing on Spain and Portugal in the years following our first Puglia trip in 2021. For me, Puglia is the perfect off-season destination and I’m already dreaming up a return to Nardò while I’m writing this.
The next edition of this newsletter is going to feature our trip to Spain in July last year. Hope that will give you some ideas for your upcoming (high-season) summer vacation.
Until then, safe travels!
Franka
Klingt traumhaft, Elternzeit Inspo für uns 💛🙏🏻