You will start the day in the seaside city of Otranto, considered the door to the East. For centuries, it was an outpost of the Byzantine Empire on Apulian soil, as well as the cultural and artistic center of the entire region.

Otranto is a city that rests on the rocky mountainside overlooking the sea. Be prepared to be stunned by the imposing mosaic floor of the city’s cathedral that dates back to the 12th Century and survived undamaged by the Turkish invasions of the 15th Century.

You next go to Lecce, the capital of Apulian baroque style. On a guided tour, you will see elegant baroque palaces and churches constructed from warmly colored Lecce stone. These beautiful buildings surround the magnificent ruins of what was once a Roman city called Lupiae.