Wellness Cultural and Culinary Travel

in Salento and Puglia Italy

The Salento Peninsula is in the southeastern corner of the Puglia region of Italy. In ancient times it was inhabited by the Messapi a term signifying “land amid the waters” – the Ionian and Adriatic seas. Towns and villages are characteristically made of whitewashed houses in narrow streets with local handicraft shops, immersed in the green of the olive trees and vineyards, bordered by the typical dry-stone walls.

Sun, sea and breezes during a summer season lasting from May to mid-October. The mild winters are always pleasant with plenty of sunshine.

Wellness Bio Dances Holistic Massages Mystical and Healing Practices Influenced by Local Traditions

An enchanting setting along the Salento coastline, Villa Cesarea is on top of four marine grottoes that are the source of its famed mineral waters. It is also a place of pagan and Christian legends. In the former, the waters were created by giant men made of fire and sulfur, whereas the latter, from which name the Cesarea is derived, is based on the young maiden Cisaria whose sacrifice purified and sanctified the waters.

The Salentum Treatment consists of body scrubs, face masks and massages with local ingredients: wine and olives, olive oil, blackberries and pomegranates, Mediterranean citrus fruits.

Accommodations elegant apartments in a beautiful park surrounded by age-old olive and fruit trees and a biological garden; nearby: cycle tracks and an 18-hole golf course.

Baroque Architecture Food and Wine Traditions and Spectacular Coastlines

Culture famous for its soft stones, ideal for making sculptures, and its ceramics products, Lecce is over 2000 years old and renowned for its historic center and baroque architecture, stretching from Roman times to the 18^th Century, the Acaya renaissance quarter, the Cavallino Widespread Museum, the Messapi archeological park and the MUSA University Museum. It is also a major agricultural center specializing in olive oil and wine, hence, numerous opportunities to experience the famed local wines and traditional cuisine.

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Nardò second largest town in the region, takes the concept of sustainability very seriously; it is built on local traditions that are especially manifest in food and wine as well as the arts and culture. The city’s monuments are characterized by different artistic styles representative of its long history. 

Gallipoli is on an island with ancient monuments, tiny streets, and churches surrounded by the pristine waters of the Ionian Sea.

Otranto is the eastern most city in Salento with magnificent sea views and monuments like Corigliano Castle and the Carpignano Byzantine Crypt.

Food and Wine experience Salento’s famed wines and traditional cuisine. Some local specialties: puccia, friseddhre, pittule, rustici, pasticciotti and sweets made ​​of almond paste, accompanied by the local wines: Negramaro, Primitivo and Malvasia.

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Art and Ecology Travel in Northeast Italy

Monselice Arqua’ Petrarca the Euganean Hills and Padua

Monselice is a medieval town in Veneto, located on the plain at the edge of the Euganean Hills and not far from Arquà Petrarca. Stroll around its cobbled lanes of the medieval center and castle, walk up to the scenic Colle della Rocca. The castle, nicknamed castelletto or small castle, is made up of different buildings dating back to different eras. The oldest facade with attached Romanesque house dates back to the 11th century and was the stronghold of Ezzelino da Romano. Dinner and stay in a bio-hotel.

Euganean Hills bike up the hills to visit Arquà Petrarca. The bike itinerary follows a circular route around the perimeter of the Euganean Hills Park and is full of tourist attractions. The path is paved in most sections and it’s easy to ride. Arquà Petrarca, the small pebbled village of the poet Petrarca, is considered to be one of the most beautiful medieval village in Italy.

Thirteen Wineries comprise the Colli Euganei Denomination

Colli Euganei are a natural island protected by a Regional Park characterized by lush and variegated vegetation and a land that offers its precious fruits in every season: delicious wild berries, cherries,

strawberries, blackberries, pomegranate, figs, delicate native greens, grapes, honey and olive oil processed according to a 7-century old tradition.

Padua guided tour of this ancient and distinguished art city. Its history is documented by monuments and artworks of unquestioned value. The XIV Century Scrovegni Chapel with its world famous Giotto frescoes, the Basilica of Sant’Antonio and Prato della Valle, one of Europe’s largest piazzas with its 88.620 square meters.

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Northeast Italy 
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