losaltos

I used to live in Rome but haven't been back to Italy in over ten years -- way too long. Some friends and I want to rent a house/villa whatever in southern Italy: Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria etc. Does anyone have suggestions about a great location where we would have lovely surroundings but also some interesting sights to see? We are not lazy vacation tyes! Also anyone used a rental company that you would recommend? We want something very nice.... Thanks!

UmoDiViaggio

what are you into.?... beach, history, churches, culture? what time of year?

stracciatella

Basilicata is stupendously beautiful and fascinating. It is especially beautiful around the southern Dolomiti and near Matera. If you like wine, you can also go near Venosa.

Unless you like little beach coves, Puglia is not lovely scenery except it can be nice in some parts in the hills where the trulli are, between Locorotondo and Ceglie Messapica. From you can drive to Lecce, Martina Franca and Ostuni and some other very old towns. You can also drive to see the beach coves.

This place looks nice to me. From there you could visit Matera, Pietrapertosa, Metaponto, and the most famous food destinations in Puglia for wine, bread and olives (in the Murge). You could also visit Bari.

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p97668

sundriedpachino

What time of year are you going? Also, for how long? If it's warm, you might like the Salento, or the Gargano peninsula. Alternately, Tropea or Maratea.

If you want to see Matera, incredible place, there are many places within driving distance that are interesting.

It all depends on your interests.

losaltos

We will be going in September-October timeframe, likely for about 10 days. WE are not beach people, but love food/wine/culture/scenery/history. Does this help? Do you think it would be better to move around a bit (fi so, where?) or get a villa convenient to lots of places? Thanks for help so far!!

aguamineral

If you are not "beach people," you may not be much attracted to Puglia, unless you are "foodie" people -- in which case, you might enjoy the Murge area (around Altamura, Noci) and visiting Bari and Corato. Otherwise, the small city of Lecce is the "wow" sight of Puglia, and from that area you can visit Gallipoli, Otranto and Taranto, all of which have historical treasures and interesting culture. But while the towns are interesting, the inland scenery of the Salento in between is not.

As you probably already know, the most famous part of Campania for tourism is the Amalfi coast. Even if you don't want to be in a mob of tourists all the time, it is possible to rent a villa with views near Sorrento or around Salerno and enjoy the scenic beauty, and even visit Pompei and Paestum and other incredible places and still feel you are having an adventure in Italy, not visiting a shopping mall.