"Gets right under Italy's skin. Few books about living in foreign climes are written as entertainingly, beautifully or romantically." -- Sydney Morning Herald WINNER OF THE GROLLO RUZZENE FOUNDATION PRIZE When Chris travelled from Sydney to Dublin, he never dreamed his life was about to change forever. There he meets Daniela - one L, smile as you say it to pronounce it correctly - and it's amore at first sight. Before he can say si, he's uprooted to follow her to her sun-kissed hometown of Andrano, Puglia, tucked in the heel of southern Italy. The whitewashed houses, olive groves and cobblestone lanes are beautiful, but soon Chris is getting to grips with everyday Italian life. There's infuriating bureaucracy, an anarchic road system and - biggest challenge of all - Daniela's mamma, who's determined to convert him to the Catholic faith and build an extension on her house where the couple might live la dolce vita.

Having walked down the Appian Way for his acclaimed book Between Two Seas, Charles Lister found himself irresistibly drawn to the land of contrasts that is the extreme south of Italy. A French traveller once observed that Italy south of Naples is Africa, yet this had once been Magna Graecia, a land of luxury, and home of the Sybarites. George Berkeley had visited in search of tarantulas, and George Gissing, in a feverish dream, had imagined he was back in Ancient Greece. So what is it like today, twenty-five centuries after it was a region studded with Greek temples, where Hannibal and Pyrrhus had massacred thousands, and where Pythagoras had tried to invent democracy? Lister had planned to travel by bicycle, but an Italian said he was mad and insisted he take his moped. He travelled extensively, as engaged by the wines of the region and the beauty of the local women as by the plethora of temples and the weight of history. With great skill and in captivating prose, he reveals it to be a place haunted by its extraordinary past; once great and famous, still beautiful, and, in places, now tragically abandoned. Heel to Toe is a fascinating and utterly enjoyable portrait of a little-known and much misunderstood part of Europe. It belongs firmly in the best traditions of English travel writing.

"This lush guide, featuring more than 350 glorious photographs from National Geographic, showcases the best Italy has to offer from the perspective of two women who have spent their lives reveling in its unique joys."--Publisher's description.

This small book describes a fifteen-day car trip you can take in Apulia and the neighboring regions of Basilicata and Abruzzo, passing through important archeological, artistic, and cultural locations. The itinerary starts from the town of Ortona a Mare in Abruzzo. It goes through several Apulia cities and then to Matera, a stunning city in Basilicata, vibrant with history, cave hotels, and authentic Italian food. The time to visit Matera is now. The ancient town, 2019 European Culture Capital, could be Italy's next great attraction. The itinerary then returns to Apulia and touches other several cities, to arrive in Alberobello, known for its Trulli, whitewashed stone huts with conical roofs - the hilltop Rione Monti district has hundreds of them. It continues with other towns in Apulia and the Gargano peninsula, with its National Park, home to the last remaining part of the oak and beech Forest Umbra that once covered most of central Europe. It passes through Termoli to end up again in Ortona al Mare. It also describes a possible visit to the Tremiti Islands from Termoli and how to get there. There are several ferry companies providing transportation services to these islands, the service is available from different ports, with or without the possibility of bringing your car with you. Finding the right solution for your needs using Google is at least confusing if you don't understand Italian; you can spend a full day to figure out what is available and when. In the guide, I present you with the outcome of my research. The guide includes a chapter on the food and wine of Apulia. A list of local recipes is present; the original recipes' links are active in the digital editions.

Why is social media in southeast Italy so predictable when it is used by such a range of different people? This book describes the impact of social media on the population of a town in the southern region of Puglia, Italy. Razvan Nicolescu spent 15 months living among the town’s residents, exploring what it means to be an individual on social media. Why do people from this region conform on platforms that are designed for personal expression? Nicolescu argues that social media use in this region of the world is related to how people want to portray themselves. He pays special attention to the ability of users to craft their appearance in relation to collective ideals, values and social positions, and how this feature of social media has, for the residents of the town, become a moral obligation: they are expected to be willing to adapt their appearance to suit their different audiences at the same time, which is crucial in a town where religion and family are at the heart of daily life.

Salento by 5 is a collection of richly woven Italian stories, written by three local Italians and two American travelers. A friendship begins in the Rome airport, migrates to Salento, the southernmost Italian region of Puglia, blossoms over food and wine, and culminates in a narrative filled with nostalgic and personal recollections of Salento's unique history, culture, and people. Enjoy the book's watercolor sketches, the local recipes, and off-the-beaten path travel hints that only the Salento by 5 authors can provide. Whether you are an armchair traveler or looking for a new Italian adventure in a not so well known region, Salento by 5 has a little something for everyone.

An Armchair Traveller's History of Apulia is the story of the heel of Italy - Puglia - as told by past and present day travellers. It has beautiful landscapes, cave towns and frescoed grotto churches, wonderful old cities with Romanesque cathedrals, Gothic castles and a wealth of Baroque architecture. And yet, while far from inaccessible, until quite recently it was seldom visited by tourists. This portrait of Apulia concentrates on the Apulian people down the ages. Conquerors, whether Messapians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Lombards, Byzantines, Normans, Angevins, Germans or Spaniards, have all left their mark on the region in a cultural palimpsest that at first sight bewilders, but which hugely repays investigation. Arranged in short chapters, the narrative travels from north to south, making it an ideal companion for exploring Apulia by car. The Gazetteer, which is cross-referenced to the main text, highlights cities, churches, cathedrals, castles and sites of historical importance to the visitor. For travellers on the ground or students at their desks, this elegant, cloth-bound book will prove invaluable.