Day three: Cisternino: the Trulli District (B, L)

We transfer to the rural Villa Cenci hotel near the small town of Cisternino in the Valle d' Itria, also known as the Trulli District, an extraordinary and totally unique landscape, dotted with conical-roofed dwellings (trulli) amidst vineyards and fields partitioned by stone walls. We then stop at a typical large farmhouse, Masseria Minguccio, and enjoy a home cooked lunch prepared by Stefano. Look through this large building and wander along the country lanes and visit an abandoned trulli complex. Later we take coffee or 'aperitivo' and enjoy a stroll in nearby Ostuni, astunning town of stark whitewashed buildings with its stepped streets and alleyways reminiscent of a North African medina. Dine in Ostuni or back at the hotel.

Day eight excursion: the Salentine Coast (B)

We begin the day in the holiday/port town of Otranto which in the eleventh century was one of the Italy's busiest ports in the time of the crusades. We visit the Aragonese fortress and Norman cathedral, with its amazing mediaeval mosaic floor depicting the tree of life. Following the chain of crumbling lookout towers along the wild coastline towards the tip of the Salentine peninsular and Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy's Land's End, we stop at the Grotta dei Cervi to view Neolithic cave art, and at Santa Cesarea Terme for a thermal spa by the sea. A notable feature of this particular prairie-like landscape are the eclectic styles of rural architecture.

Day eleven: the Sassi-Matera (B, D)

We dedicate this day to exploring the extraordinary heart of Matera, consisting of cave homes and churches with built facades and underground labyrinths containing mediaeval frescos. The afternoon is free. You can take a guided visit of the frescoed grottos across the ravine, or have the afternoon to yourself relaxing or shopping in town.We dine together in the Sassi, which takes on another ambience in the evening.

Day nine: Mar Ionico (Ionian sea coast)

After a stop at the Santuario della Madonna di Coelimanna to view medieval Greek frescos and mosaics, we travel on towards the Ionian (Jonico in local dialect) coast, visiting an interesting Italian cemetery, where you can compare the wistfully beautiful yew-lined streets of old family mausoleums with an equally fascinating, if somewhat macabre contemporary adjunct. We drop down to the coast to lunch at the charming seaside town of Santa Maria al Bagno, then to nearby Gallipoli where we visit an antique underground olive press and enjoy a port side evening meal. This aptly named (kalli = beautiful, Polis = city) old port, with its Hellespont namesake, is of Greek origin.