Treasures of Stone is a journey to ancient territories, dotted with villages and towns where the local stone, now soft, now limestone, now porous, becomes a material with multiple uses, artfully worked and a witness to centuries of history. We will visit Polignano where the old town is perched on a rocky ridge overlooking the sea, we will then be in Monopolywith its fishing village of white cottages and a Bari, a town with an ancient core criss-crossed by narrow streets and lanes where imposing Romanesque buildings stand. We will stop at Alberobello, city of trulli, made with the dry construction technique and discover the Caves of Castellanawhere the limestone rock becomes sculpture moulded by the hands of a thousand-year-old nature. Our tour will continue among the architecture set in limestone landscapes in Matera, UNESCO site since 1993 and we will reach Ostuni, 'White City', which will dazzle us with the charm of its typical lime-covered stone houses. Locorotondo will welcome us with its famous and immaculate historic centre with its circular shape, where we will admire the chiancarelle (a special covering of limestone slabs) and Cisternino, a town in the heart of the Valle d'Itria, we will discover the cooking of meat on typical 'fornelli', or stone plates that enhance the flavour. We will finally arrive in Lecce where the Baroque explodes with the colour and vibrations of light typical of the Salento sandstone. Tesori di pietra is a tribute to the places that dot the Murgia dei Trulli, to the picturesque medieval towns with their winding alleys where time seems to stand still, to the romantic villages with their living stone houses where unspoilt nature blends with art and history. Amidst arches, flowered balconies, meandering alleyways and flights of steps, we will admire the immense expanses of wheat or the blue of the sea that provide a backdrop now to the bulk of a castle now to picturesque fishing quarters.
General Information
Number Min./Max.
8 people
Period
March - November
Travel modes
Hiking/cultural
Type of trip
Guaranteed departure with confirmation within 15 days of departure date and possible full refund
The trip includes
Overnight stay in a hotel
6 breakfasts, 1 lunch in Alberobello, 1 lunch in Lecce 6 dinners
No info. bb
No info.
No info.
Programme
![](https://lovesouthitaly.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/polignano.jpg)
Day 1
Polignano a Mare and Monopoli
The trip will begin with arrival at our hotel in Conversano, followed by a pleasant welcome drink. After settling in, we will depart for Polignano a Mare, the birthplace of Domenico Modugno, whose iconic sculpture can be seen here, and famous for its historic centre that rises on a high spur of rock with scenic inlets including the picturesque Lama Monachile, so called because in the past it was inhabited by colonies of monk seals. We will then move on to Monopoli, a characteristic town with whitewashed houses, where we will stroll through the historic centre and admire historical sites and testimonies such as Palazzo Martinelli and the Carlo V Castle. We will return to Conversano where we will enjoy a visit to the historic centre and then return to the hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.
Hotel planned for days 1, 2, 3, 4 ,5 , 6
Hotel D'Aragona or equivalentProgramme
Arrival at the hotel and welcome drink
Visit to Polignano a Mare
Visit to Monopoli
Return to Conversano and visit to the historic centre
Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay
Visit to Polignano a Mare
Visit to Monopoli
Return to Conversano and visit to the historic centre
Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay
![](https://lovesouthitaly.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/WhatsApp-Image-2021-11-23-at-14.54.39.jpeg)
Day 2
Bari
We will discover Bari, a city with an ancient centre teeming with history, life and tradition. We will visit the Cathedral of San Nicola, an imposing and majestic example of Romanesque architecture, the church of San Sabino with its large rose window sculpted on the façade whose light, at certain times of the year, is reflected on the floor mosaic, which in turn depicts the figure of a rose window, in a play of light and shadow.
We will cross Strada delle Orecchiette, a small alleyway in the heart of the historic centre where housewives make the traditional Apulian pasta under the eyes of passers-by and travellers, and stroll through the characteristic port area and along the waterfront. After the visit, we return to the hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.
Programme
Breakfast
Visit to Bari
Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay
Visit to Bari
Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay
![](https://lovesouthitaly.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Alberobello-1.jpg)
Day 3
Alberobello and Castellana Caves
We will be in Alberobello, the town of the trulli, typical structures made of local limestone, whose interiors we will be able to visit and appreciate their construction techniques up close. We will have lunch in a local restaurant, enjoying traditional flavours, before heading to the suggestive Grotte di Castellana, where nature has sculpted incredible limestone sculptures set deep underground in the stalactites and stalagmites. After the visit we return to the hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.
Programme
Breakfast
Visit to Alberobello
Lunch in a local restaurant
Visit to the Castellana Caves
Visit to Alberobello
Lunch in a local restaurant
Visit to the Castellana Caves
![](https://lovesouthitaly.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/WhatsApp-Image-2021-11-23-at-14.54.38-1.jpeg)
Day 4
Matera
We will dedicate our day to Matera, world-famous for its Sassi, a UNESCO site since 1993 and European Capital of Culture 2019. We will admire the Sasso Caveoso, the Sasso Barisano and explore the town walking through alleys, stairs and subways, where the landscape merges with the human handiwork and dwellings, historical palaces and public buildings find their highest and purest expression in the local stone, the tender calcarenite. After our immersion in this lunar city, suspended in time, we return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
Programme
Breakfast
Visit to Matera
Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay
Visit to Matera
Return to hotel for dinner and overnight stay
![](https://lovesouthitaly.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/OSTUNI.jpeg)
Day 5
Ostuni
We will visit Ostuni, the 'White City', where we will be dazzled by the characteristic lime-covered stone houses and enjoy views and atmospheres typical of Mediterranean villages. Strolling among the ancient palazzi, we will reach Piazza Sant'Oronzo and the ancient Cathedral, an example of Italian flamboyant Gothic architecture, and the Aragonese walls with their ramparts and towers.
In the afternoon we will move on to Locorotondo, famous for the circular shape of its immaculate historic centre where we will find houses built with the use of chiancarelle (local stone slabs that cover the surfaces); finally we will travel to Cisternino, a town in the heart of the Valle d'Itria, famous for its meat cooked on 'fornelli', stone plates that enhance the flavour. We will return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
Programme
Breakfast
Visit to Ostuni
Visit to Locorotondo
Visit to Cisternino
Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay
Visit to Ostuni
Visit to Locorotondo
Visit to Cisternino
Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay
![](https://lovesouthitaly.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/lecce-basilica-s-croce.jpg)
Day 6
Lecce
We will arrive in Lecce, the city where Baroque flourishes in the architecture of churches and public buildings, with the colour and light vibrations typical of the Lecce stone that envelops everything with its unmistakable hues. Here, immersed in an ancient atmosphere, we will enjoy typical Salento coffee and tasty stuffed pasticciotti in Piazza Sant'Oronzo, visit the 17th-century cathedral and the famous Basilica of Santa Croce. We will have lunch with typical Salento flavours in a local restaurant and return to the hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.
Programme
Breakfast
Visit to Lecce
Lunch in a local restaurant
Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay
Visit to Lecce
Lunch in a local restaurant
Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay
![](https://lovesouthitaly.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/top-view-of-luggage-and-travel-essentials-with-pinpoint.jpg)
Day 7
Final greetings and end of our services
After breakfast at the hotel, we will say goodbye and make an appointment for the next tour of discovery in Southern Italy!