In pictures: the villages, beaches and grottoes that dot the coast of Puglia
The Salento peninsula at the southern tip of Puglia offers a road trip packed with sandy beaches, clifftop cave dwellings, dolmens and towns studded with elaborate, baroque palazzi.
A craftsmen fashions traditional fishing tools in the old town of Gallipoli, on the peninsula’s west coast.
A rowing boat by the cliffside entrance to Grotta della Zinzulusa.
People diving into the turquoise waters of the famous Grotta della Poesia (‘cave of poetry’), in Roca Vecchia, near Otranto, on Puglia’s west coast.
The bright architectural flourishes of a home in Santa Cesarea Terme, on Puglia’s east coast.
The view across the Spiaggia della Purità cove in Gallipoli’s old town.
Locals share coffee at a beach bar in Punta Prosciutto, on Puglia’s west coast.
A street in the tiny village of Marittima, near Castro Marina.
Houses and churches are made from local stone in the tiny village of Marittima, near Castro Marina.
The narrow bay of Acquaviva, near Castro Marina, on Puglia’s east coast. At the small beach, cold freshwater from underground rivers mixes with the seawater, which makes for refreshing bathing.
The beach club Bagno degli Archi in Santa Cesarea Terme, built from local stone on the site of a former quarry.
A twilight dinner of fried crab claws, prawns and squid, plus bread and beer, from a harbour-front friggitoria (fried food shop), eaten on the rocks in Castro Marina.
The fortified bastions of Otranto’s old town, as seen from street level.
Beach-goers enjoy the afternoon heat on the spectacular dunes of the hamlet of Marina di Pescoluse on Puglia’s west coast.