fourfortravel

Below I've placed the itinerary for our upcoming holiday in Italy. I've included the dates in the event something particular is called to mind (festivals, closings, and so forth). The driving days are set based on the reserved house/trulli/apartment; asterisks only denote market days for the given city.

Our plan is generally to sightsee in the mornings and then return to our rental (with pool) for the afternoon. We did that last year in Provence and it was a winning combination; plus, none of us thought wandering a city closed for siesta in the heat of late June would be any fun.

Questions.
1. Do we have too little scheduled for the first week in Puglia? Travelers are two adults, two teens (and one DDog). We're happy to wander interesting towns and see what there is to see; once the teens reach their daily limit of "old stuff" they usually take off on their own.

2. Can anyone suggest an easy plan to park as near as possible to Trevi fountain on our travel-via-Rome day? It being that the coins the children threw in the fountain in 2007 have us returning to the area, more or less, the teens want to throw another coin into the fountain for the future. We'll pause for lunch before continuing to Magione.

We have visited Venice previously, so the overnight is really just to break up the driving and eat more great food.

Thank you, in advance.

13 June Saturday: Drive Vienna to Ravenna (7.5 hours)
14 June Sunday: Drive Ravenna to Puglia (8 hours)
15 June Monday: Lecce*
16 June Tuesday: Brindsi/Ostuni or Beach Day
17 June Wednesday: Salento Driving Day, Otranto* to Gallipoli*
18 June Thursday: Brindsi/Ostuni or Beach Day
19 June Friday: Open
20 June Saturday: Drive to Martina Franca (1.5 hrs)
Explore: Alberobello, Locorotondo
21 June Sunday: Matera (and afternoon tour with Nadia Garlatti)
22 June Monday: Drive to Magione via Rome (7 hrs)
23 June Tuesday: Assisi or Perugia
24 June Wednesday: Perugia or Assisi
25 June Thursday: Drive to Venice (4 hrs)
26 June Friday: Venice
27 June Saturday: Home to Vienna

sandralist

It appears to be that you are spending very little time in Ravenna, maybe too little to see the mosaics (including the basilica 10kms in Classe). The mosaics are the most colorful and important of artworks you will see until you get back north in Assisi. So I would try to spend longer if possible. Maybe one night in Ravenna, a full day of sightseeing the next, but spend the night down the road at the seaside in Cesanatico, get a late afternoon swim (or morning one).

I would skip Brindisi.

It is possible there is a classical music festival going on during the time you will be in Martina Franca, not sure, but it would affect parking availablity I would guess and it might be something you would enjoy.

I would spend the night in Matera, in a cave.

Assisi will be quite crowded with pilgrims and tourists. I would try to time the arrival when the crowds have died down.

Visiting Perugia, try to make a stop just outside the city walls at the Etruscan tomb. It's wonderful.

In Italy, the Spanish siesta is called "la pausa". It is quite extended in Puglia and Basilicata, but the compensation is that the evenings are quite lively.

Hope everybody is good natured about being in a car so much of the time, including the pooch. Don't expect a lot of roadside services in southern Italy, so keep your car topped up with gas and always have lots of water for all.

fourfortravel

I should have been clearer, sorry. Ravenna is "just" an overnight to break up the drive (we can not leave earlier than 13 June because of school). DH and I are saving Ravenna, Modena, Parma and what we missed in Bologna (from a previous holiday) for another trip sans children.

Why skip Brindsi? What might we add instead?

This will be our fourth visit and third road trip to Italy, and we're all longtime veterans of the DC to Cape Cod summer road trip holiday. DDog will be asleep in the back of the station wagon and the teens will have movies running on their laptops before we hit the Vienna city line, no doubt.

sandralist

Then why stay in Ravenna? It will be difficult to get in there and park and more expensive the other places. Athough the food in Ravenna is fine, you will get better and cheaper many other places.

My suggestions for alternates would be Cesnantico or Dozza, which are interesting places to walk around even for kids.

Brindisi does not have many outstanding worth-the-drive attractions. Would Castel del Monte fit into your itinerary at some point? If it were me, I would generally push things up so you could spend the night in Matera. One of the more beautiful attractions of that area is the small Crypt of the Original Sin, but you need to go with a guide to see it, so it takes a while, so it is not easy to fit into just a day trip.

If you go to Gallipoli, be sure to the underground olive oil mills.

I don't find driving in Italy to be as easy as the I-95, and some of Puglia's roads are bone-shakers. But I don't know how you can take the dog without driving the whole distance, so glad to hear you've got some road warrior experience under your belt.

Blueeyedcod

Have you got the appropriate paperwork/clearances for the dog? It's not as easy as you think.

Blueeyedcod

Also, the Trevi Fountain is closed (as in no water running and covered in scaffold) for renovations/restoration work until probably October so if this is your sole reason for stopping there, then maybe reconsider.
I assume you know about Rome's ZTL zones? You can't drive into the historic centre without incurring massive fines. You would need to park outside this zone and take public transportation to the Trevi Fountain or anywhere nearby.

fourfortravel

Blueeyedcod, DDog has a pet passport (honestly!) for EU travel; it was a requirement when we moved overseas. His photo graces the cover, and the book contains all of his vaccination records. We've only had to produce it once, when crossing into Romania. We're well-versed on ZTL's; and I especially thank you for the information on Trevi Fountain!

sandralist, Castel del Monte might fit since we are no longer routing through Rome, thanks for the tip. I'll see if we can find a place in Cesnantico or Dozza, as well.

Thanks again.

autodidact

You will need a holiday after that trip....

We were in Lecce and Matera last month (I wrote a short report on the trip). I'm not sure you are giving yourself enough time in either place.

I'm not sure I agree with sandralist about trying to spend the night in a cave in Matera. Then again, maybe I'm just a bit old and fond of my comforts!

For us Castel del Monte was worth seeing as it fitted easily into our route and schedule, and had been on my architectural "must see" list for a while. Otherwise I would not recommend a major detour to see it. Be aware that it's effectively empty inside.

sandralist

Some of the lodgings in cave houses in Matera are quite luxurious, and even those that are more b&b in nature and modestly priced are comfortable.

If you learn about the houses in the Sassi in Matera you will discover that even before electricity and conventional running water, they had a lot of amenities because they are built in such a way that they circulate air and create water with the natural action of humidity on the stone.

But the modern hotels withi the Sassi/cave system have all the mod-cons. Were I traveling with kids, it would by a priority for me to live in such a dwelling for at least one night.

bilboburgler

Brindisi is basically a port city with access to Greece etc. Not the greatest but not the worst. I might move the time to Lecce but you could also use the time at Gravina (for the cave churches) or Gioia del Colle for the Norman castle.

fourfortravel

autodidact, yes, I read your report and asked a couple of planning questions. This holiday became what it is because of an unanticipated need to return early to Vienna; otherwise, we would have extended the time a bit. The second week is rushed, no doubt. Venice is an overnight to break up the driving; we spent five days there last October so our overnight will mainly be for more photos and great food.

sandralist, the housing is set, alas. We have two nights in a modern-equipped Trulli; the cave night in Matera will have to wait for another visit.

Our holiday is what it is; having the privilege to live in Europe, we enjoy whatever we can, wherever we are. Just this week DDog and I explored two castle ruins; and our son and I toured a stunningly beautiful Stift and its gardens here in Austria, none of which will likely cross a tourist path. In the end we'll never see it all. In posting our itinerary I was hoping to glean the helpful information that I have (Trevi Fountain, better lodging outside Ravenna, etc.) and I sincerely appreciate it.

Thank you all, and please keep the helpful information coming!

fourfortravel

bilboburglar, thanks. Norman castles hold great appeal to us, though one of the teenagers wants to see the Roman columns that mark the end of the Appian Way. We thought it would be a good add-on to a morning in Ostuni before returning to the rental villa and its pool for the afternoon?

bilboburgler

There are a number of Appian ways, a bit like a motorway that got rebuilt off and on over the hundreds of years. But basically wherever you are there will be signs or TI will know. Just a point Tourist Info offices tend to move and be badly signposted (I think they get cheap rents and since they know where the office is they don't need to tell anyone else) so use GPS. You'll also see these cast brass maps in many Puglian towns, if you can work out how to use them, you'll be the first.

The Gioia Norman castle is built into the town and so tricky to find, but there are signs etc. Outside of town is an old Roman Town, tickets can be bought at the Norman castle (not at the Roman town site!).

sandralist

I think it is misleading to say there are a number of Appian ways (the "newer" renovation largely simply runs parallel to it) and it's especially misleading if there is a specific interest in seeing the columns that mark the end of THE Appian Way. If I knew a young person was especially interested to see that, I would certainly keep Brindisi on the list of destinations. In my experience, it is rare enough when younger travelers have a particular curiousity about an educational, historic site, and it indeed makes the nature of the Roman empire more vivid to see the original Roman roads and ports with one's own eyes.