we are visiting Puglia for 10 days in April. flying into Bari. Our tentative plan is to stay first night Bari then Matera for 2 nights then stay in or near Locorotando Cisternino for a night or 2 visit the area e.g.,Alberobello and drive to Lecce for 2 nights. Then drive to Gallipoli for 2 nights and visit Santa Maria di Leuca and Otranto. then drive to Ostuni or Polignano a Mare, It adds up to a lot of hotels but uncertain where to establish one or more strategic bases . I would appreciate suggestions on towns to stay for 3-4 nights as a base as well as a recommendation of a masserias to relax from sight seeing.
Thanks

We stayed in Polignano a Mare for ten days and did day trips to the places you listed. . It was one of our favorite trips!
Everyone seems to rave about Matera but we didn’t care for it. The sassi history was interesting while also rather depressing.

You’re probably the first person ever who didn’t like Matera. We loved it although we only stayed two nights because it was a side trip to our Puglia trip of 10 days in 2022. We stayed in Ostuni for 3 nights, Lecce for one night, just because it’s Lecce and it can’t be passed up, Specchia for 2 nights and ended up in Polignano for the last nights. Unforgettable trip. Best food ever even in Italy and after hundreds of trips and even a year living there. Only had one bad meal, where we both got food poisoning and that happened in Gallipoli at one of the supposedly best places. We don’t mention it because it brings up bad memories from and otherwise stupendous trip. To the OP, I’d base in one or two places. We didn’t stay in hotels, only Airbnb and each time the hosts were the owners, contrary to Sicily where pretty much every host was a paid manager. In Polignano our host, who lived in the upstairs apartment with his wife and family, left us a bowl of fresh cherries in the morning and fresh baked goods too. We arrived in Poli during a local holiday and he took us with our rental to a free parking spot so that we wouldn’t get a ticket in the paid lot. Puglia is where I’d like to retire to after that.

Matera and Alberabello are amazing, but the most stunning place in Puglia is Castel del Monte, the chateau of Emperor Frederic of Hohenstauffen ; you do both Albarabello and Castel in one day

With only 10 days, for your Puglia itinerary- maybe you can pick one base in the north/Valle D'itria (Monopoli/Polignano if you prefer a coastal spot or Ostuni/Alberobello/Locorotondo if you prefer inland) and one base in the south/Salento (Lecce which is perfectly placed or Otranto/Gallipoli if you want a seaside town). And then do daytrips from your base. We stayed at Masseria Brancati outside Ostuni, one of our best experiences ever.

I suppose everybodys travel experiences are unique but we spent 3 nights in Matera (technically thats Basilicata, not Puglia) last September, and IMO it's one of the most fascinating cities in the world, not just Italy.

That i right ! Matera is in Basilica, not Puglia. This said, together with th Sassi, the most stunning site is Castel del Monte in Puglia

I was not impressed by Matera, interesting but hey, all different
2 bases is best
It really depends what you like, I found Lecce fascinating with so many ancient remains from Roman times forward.
To me Trulli are just dry stone walls but built in a circle and finally making a cone, nothing special
The food of Puglia, the fish and the peasant, non-meat food is fantastic, the wines are at another level to other parts of Europe just from the levels of heat the plants have to survive. (and that is before Climate Change really began to bite)
I found many towns interesting as the outskirts are normally horrible developments but the centre are beautiful ancient buildings, repurposed many times.
I also found following the ancient Roman roads a thrill as they were not straight, they were moved a fair few times, even the most important ones but they do make good use of the geography.

There are so many Masseria it is difficult to know what to advise. Do make sure you know what the deal is, that there is a restaurant open when you need it etc. I'd start with Google Maps in the zone you want to visit and search Masseria and just watch the red dots light up.

Define the places you want to visit and check then a charming hill town or a Masseria somewhat in the centre of this area, may be Cisternino (for the visit of Bari, Castellana Grotte,Alberobello, Matera, Ostuni, Egnazia, Torre Guaceto Park.....) and Nardo for the visit of Lecce and the Salento).

While Castel Del Monti beautiful it’s by no means the most stunning place in Puglia. Puglia has hundreds of stunning sights so that’s only your opinion, taken with a grain of salt, judging from your comments