The sea, eleven places to eat and drink, three wines, three day trips and one philosophy you won't find in any guidebook.
Every place in this guide is recommended by Mario Dimitri, co-founder of 15Dolcevita.
White sand and clear, shallow water on the Ionian coast. Go early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
Ionian Sea · June–OctoberA small seaside village south of Manduria, next to the Salina dei Monaci nature reserve, where flamingos stop in the lagoon. On the other side, the open Ionian.
Salina dei Monaci · Nature ReserveAlso known as the Spiaggia della Commenda, two kilometres from Campomarino di Maruggio. Calm, clear water and no facilities: bring water, shade and food. For more than thirty years it has been the naturist beach of this coast, by custom rather than by ordinance, and it is much loved by the LGBTQ+ community. Nudity is never required. For a drink or lunch, Lido Posto 9 is in the same località Commenda.
Naturist · LGBTQ+ friendly · CampomarinoWhite sand, clear water and, behind you, Gallipoli's old town on its island. Beach clubs; busy in July and August.
Ionian · Beach clubsTaranto lies between two seas, the Mar Grande and the Mar Piccolo, joined by the canal under the Ponte Girevole. The MARTA, the national archaeological museum, keeps the Ori di Taranto, the Greek gold jewellery of one of the great cities of Magna Graecia.
History · MARTA · Worth the detourRides on the beach from the Maneggio Sette Nani, on Via Torre Colimena in Porto Cesareo: from Torre Lapillo to Punta Prosciutto, one to three hours. Galloping on the shore is allowed only from October to May, in authorised areas; in summer, ride at dawn or at sunset.
Horse riding · Torre Lapillo · Punta ProsciuttoTaras Sub is a diving school with its summer base in the tourist harbour of Campomarino di Maruggio, on Pontile D. Courses for beginners and boat dives in the Ionian. Book ahead.
Diving · Courses · Campomarino harbourTraditional home cooking: ciciri e tria, ravioloni, meat ragù and fish. There is no obvious sign over the door: look for number 75. Closed on Wednesdays.
Lunch and dinner · Corso XX Settembre 75Rustic, and serious about meat. You choose your cut at the butcher's counter, it is grilled to order, and you eat in the garden of the butcher's house. Dinner only.
Grill · Via Francesco Ribezzo 54Dinner in the old town, from a kitchen that draws on flavours from around the world. Their only dress code, they say, is curiosity. Closed on Wednesdays; from October to May, Sunday lunch too.
Dinner · Via Ferdinando Donno 27A vineria with a kitchen and tables outside in an alley of the old town: a wide wine list, cheese and charcuterie boards, bombette. Open for dinner and late into the night.
Wine bar · Vico I Senatore Giacomo Lacaita 16Panzerotti by Alessandro Contessa, each with a name of its own. Ask us where to find him.
Street food · PanzerottiBeach bar and beach restaurant in the località Commenda.
Beach bar · Restaurant · CommendaBar pasticceria: cornetti in the morning, rustici, gelato and granita in summer. Order at the counter.
Breakfast · Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II 5The bar on Piazza Garibaldi, the main square of Manduria.
Coffee · Piazza Garibaldi 18The masseria's own cheeses, fresh and aged, bought where they are made.
Cheese · Contrada ScorcoraLisa Gilbee, an Australian winemaker, and Gaetano Morella make Primitivo from old bush vines, 30 to 75 years old, on red earth two kilometres from the sea. Small quantities, aged in barrel and bottle before release. Ask before you go.
Wine · Old bush vines · PrimitivoA winery in Sava: Primitivo and Negroamaro.
Wine · SavaThe sweet Primitivo di Manduria. Try it slightly chilled with dark chocolate or aged pecorino. Primitivo is the same grape as California's Zinfandel.
DOCG · Sweet · With chocolateThe classic pink wine of Salento. Five Roses by Leone de Castris, made in Salice Salentino, was the first rosé bottled in Italy, in 1943. Serve it cold.
Rosé · Summer · Leone de CastrisA native red grape grown mainly in the province of Brindisi, long forgotten and now coming back.
Red · Native grape · BrindisiOften called the Florence of the South, for its Baroque carved in pietra leccese, a soft local limestone. Start early in Piazza del Duomo. Lunch at Alle Due Corti, in the old town.
Baroque · Piazza del Duomo · Full dayIn Basilicata, just over the border from Puglia. The Sassi, homes carved into the rock of a ravine, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Go in autumn, at dusk.
Basilicata · UNESCO · AutumnA town of potters, with its own Quartiere delle Ceramiche. Visit the workshop of Enza Fasano, named Maestro d'Arte e Mestiere in 2020, at Via Caravaggio 31. Open Monday to Saturday, mornings and late afternoons: call before you go.
Ceramics · Maestro d'Arte · Half day"The siesta is not a nap. It is a civilizational choice.
After lunch in Manduria, the piazza empties. The shutters fall. The whole town disappears. If you try to resist it, if you attempt a shop, a gelato, a stroll, you will find nothing and no one. The streets are yours, and yours alone, and they are perfect.
Surrender to it from day one, and you will understand something that takes most visitors three days to accept: that slowing down is not laziness. It is intelligence. The Salentini have always known this.
This is, at heart, what 15Dolcevita is about. It is about building a life, even temporarily, in which rest is not a reward at the end of productivity. It is the point."