Puglia

Mild winters (9°C avg Jan), hot dry summers (29°C avg Jul). 300+ sunny days/year. Often Italy's driest region.

Slow, sun-drenched, sea-defined. Whitewashed towns (Ostuni, Locorotondo), trulli of the Itria Valley, baroque Lecce. Strong olive-oil and wine economy, booming agriturismo and luxury masseria scene. Growing American and northern European resident community.

$1,100–$1,900/mo. Coastal villages slightly higher in summer.

Policlinico di Bari and Vito Fazzi (Lecce) are the major hospitals. Private clinics expanding to serve foreign residents.

Greek Magna Graecia, then Roman, Byzantine, Norman, and Aragonese. Lecce flourished under Spanish baroque influence in the 1600s.

• ◆Italy's longest coastline at 865 km.
• ◆Produces 40% of all Italian olive oil.
• ◆Trulli of Alberobello are UNESCO-protected.
• ◆Lecce is nicknamed the 'Florence of the South' for its baroque architecture.
• ◆Salento's pizzica tarantata dance has ancient pre-Christian roots.