We will be in Italy from September 2-22. Starting in Rome for a week, we will leave Rome on September 9 and have to be back at Fiumicino on Sept 21. Definitely plan on visiting Umbria and then had the thought of driving down the Adriatic Coast and see some of Puglia and drive back across to fly back home.
Is this too ambitious? If we were to try this, what would be good destinations in Puglia that would be reasonable and within reach without making the trip too hectic.
And then a radical redesign thought....any folks think Puglia might be a better focus than Umbria?
Thanks so much in advance for the travellers wisdom!

Any Puglia advocates out there?

You were planning to split the 11 days between Umbria and Puglia?

I would want to break up the longer drives. You can do them in one shot, but that would be hectic to me. So my plan would look something like this:

9/9: Rome to somewhere in Umbria
9/10: Explore Umbria
9/11: Explore Umbria
9/12: Explore Umbria
9/13: Explore Umbria
9/14: Umbria to somewhere on the Adriatic Coast
9/15: Arrive Puglia
9/16: Explore Puglia
9/17: Explore Puglia
9/18: Explore Puglia
9/19: Explore Puglia
9/20: Puglia to somewhere on the Med Coast
9/21: Arrive Fiumicino

I would prefer less driving and could spend the entire time in Umbria. I haven't spent enough time in Puglia in recent years to know whether I could/would spend the entire time there.

"... any folks think Puglia might be a better focus than Umbria?" Assuming you know what you'd be seeing/doing in each place, which do you think would be a better focus FOR YOU?

There are two or three recent very detailed Puglia trip reports here. They have convinced me to go. Have you read them?

Yes, many threads about Puglia..both planning threads and trip reports. Take a look by doing a search for Puglia, and also for Matera, which is not in Puglia but which fits into some Puglia itineraries.

Thanks to all...I have found the Puglia trip reports and detailed discussions of cities, attractions, restaurants, etc.

I'll be back after I get up to speed!

So one one question...
My wife and I have done 3 Europe trips where we didn't make a lot of advance reservations, just wandered, looking for places we wanted to land for the night or a few nights. They were great, but they were all somewhat offseason.
Do folks think we can pull that off in Umbria and Puglia in September, or do we need to do more advance reservation and planning?

Thanks!

I think that that plan would work well in Puglia as long as you are not fixated on any one particular hotel or B&B. The beach season will have passed, so lodgings on the coasts should not be a problem, and the later in the month you travel, the less of a problem anywhere. But remember, I am speaking in general; I would not count on each and every place having space in September and a few that I know of are likely to be booked quite a long time ahead.

Puglia seems interesting to me as a slice of life kind of place, with beaches and good food. I've read the Puglia reports but there wasn't much mentioned in the way of what I like best, so I'm not dying to go.

Umbria holds other attractions, especially in terms of art and history.

I'm an art traveler. Baroque is OK for me, but Renaissance, and pre- and post-, are my loves, so Umbria is a constant draw. They have San Francesco, too.

That said, as a descendant of Materese, I found Matera delightful. Would go back.

We arrived in Puglia today so you can follow are trip report as we go...just click my screen name...

I could agree with tuscanlifedit on Puglia more being a slice of life kind of place.
Art and history is different. The seaside cities are a pleasure for the eye.
We visited beautiful cities, such as Lecce, Otranto, Santa Maria di Leuca, Gallipoli, Alberobello, Martina Franca.
If you're looking for sandy beaches, you should look in the inner side of the heel. We stayed one week at the beach in Torre San Giovanni.