shak

Hi, I am attending a conference in Otranto, Puglia (the very south of Italy) in september I will only have 2 days of my own to sight see and would like some suggestions as to where/what should be on my "must see" list. I can find little or no information on the tour sites i have visited so all suggestions are welcome.
Thanks
shak

Grinisa

Sallyjo just returned from Italy and was in Otranto so she may have some recommendations. If you don't have a car, you can take buses to Lecce (beautiful baroque architecture) and Gallipoli. If you do have a car, drive up the coast to Ostuni (known as the white city) and also see the trulli of Alberobello and the old section of Bari.

SallyJo

Otranto is beautiful. The Adriatic is a gorgeous color. We visited the Doumo there. It has a mosiac (the tree of life) covering the floor and on the right hand alter there are skeletal remains in glass of 800 people from the "sack of Otranto". Wednesday is the market day in Otranto. Basically, we saw the Doumo and then just walked around, enjoyed the shops, gelato and the gorgeous view. If you have a car, there are many gorgeous churches in Lecce (we actually spent more time being lost in Lecce than anything else), and Gallipoli is an interesting fishing village that we basically just walked around (and ate more gelato). It was close to 100 degrees while we were there, so gelato was the main priority for me ... I tried 17 different kinds while there (and some 2 or 3 times). I wanted to go to Alberobello to see the Trulis, but the drive was too long. We did see some on the side of the autostrada as we drove from Puglia to Assisi. Amazing.

shak

Thanks both to Grinisa and Sallyjo. Now i can start organising myself and planning my "vacation" after the conference. I want to take lots of photos; the market sounds great sallyjo, any other sugestions for photo oppertunities?
shak

SallyJo

We got some great photos. We brought a "throw away" panoramic camera and got some great pics. Just the water with the surrounding town is a beautiful picture, as we took some "no flash" photos in the church. Otranto, as well as the surrounding area is one big picture ready to happen !