In the following you will find some information about the area, there is extensive information in Villa Colonnata.

Nearest beach:
The nearest nice beach to Villa Colonnata is Specchiolla, about 10 minuts drive from the house. A websearch will give lots of information and pictures. The beach is divided into sections where you can either bring your own umbrella etc. or where you can rent sunbeds and umbrellas and have car parking; one of the areas you can hire sunbeds etc. is called Sabbia d'Ora (Golden Sand). To park the car and have 2 sunbeds and 2 umbrellas is about € 24 for the full day. It is less expensive if you go after 2pm; about € 15 for the same. There is a cafe, toilets and showers at the beach.

By the seaside:

If you want to go over to the Ionian coast, Porto Cesare is a lively town with a great selection of reasonable restaurants.

Another nice seaside town, only about 15 mins drive from the villa is Torre Santa Sabina. There is a cafe on the seafront which does lovely mixed fried fish and pizzas at very reasonable prices. You can sit outside with your pizza or fried fish and a glass of wine and watch the moon reflect on the lovely sea.

All the beaches in the area are Blue Flag so they are clean and safe as well as lovely.

Seightseeing, nearest cities:

The cities Ostuni, ”the white city”, Francavilla Fontana and Alberobello which is a world heritage site and a village completely comprising trullis, are all about half an hours drive from the house. They are all interesting, attractive and worth visiting.

Ostuni has a lovely old centre with lots of shops, bars and restaurants. There is also a market there every Saturday and an antique market on the first Sunday of every month.

Martina Franca has a world famous music festival in July and August – apart from being a great place to shop. Follow this link to find out more >>> This will take you to the official website of Martina Franca. On the left of the page you will see a link to the festival ”Della valle d'itria”.

Mesagne (with a big mall shopping mall and an Auchan supermarket) is 20 minutes drive away on good roads, Taranto is about half an hours away, and Lecce about one hour. Lecce is called the ”Florence of the south” and is a feast for fans of Baroque architecture. There is a roman amphitheater in the middle of the town which offers a good programme of events during the summer. Even if you are not an opera fan, listening to Madam Buttefly on a warm Italain evening in this historic setting is unforgettable. Like all Italian cities it has a great selection of shops and restaurants.

Grotaglie is great for pottery. There is a pottery centre which is a whole street of studios and the artists are happy to spend time telling you about the history of the pieces. You will see lots of pieces featuring men dressed in women’s clothing but wearing a beard. The story behind that is worth listening to! It does not matter whether you buy or not, you will still get the same warm welcome.

Carovignio has a lovely old castle which you can tour.

In Castellano you find attractive caves.

Vinery, masseria:
Manduria - a good place to buy the local wine, Primitivo. It is a good quality red despite costing about € 1 per litre. You can go to the winery and taste a selection before you buy.

Masseria - local farmers selling product from their own farm. There are signs for masserias along the roads.

Shops, markets and out for eating:

In the nice little towns nearby there are a lot of shops and places to eat, and you can experience the real Italy in the way the local people do. There is nowhere else you can have all this and enjoy the best tasting cappucino in the world.

Ceglie Messapica is a good place to find good restaurants. It is well known as a gastronomic centre in the area and has several Michelin starred restaurants despite having a population of only about 13.000.

Zoo, funfair, nature reserve, caves:
For people with children Zoosafari in Fasano is an excellent day out. It is a safari park where you drive around and see lions, tigers, bears, elephants, etc. There is also a funfair. On the way home the adults can reward themselves with a Pizza in the lovely old port of Monopoli.

Torre Guaceto is a nature reserve and there are attractive caves at Castellana.

You can Google all these places. None of them are very far from the house.