Getting Around

Visit Ostuni

The white city

Ostuni is known as “the White City”, due to its characteristic old town which was once entirely painted with white lime, today only partially. From 1994 to 2017 Ostuni has received the “Blue Flag” and the five “Legambiente” sails: special awards for the cleaning of the sea and its coasts and for the quality of services offered.

  • Ostuni Cathedral (Basilica Minore di Ostuni)
  • Carmelite Monastery (Monastero delle Carmelitane)
  • Church of San Giacomo di Compostela
  • Church of San Francesco d'Assisi

Visit Grottaglie

The city of Ceramics

Grottaglie is located south of the Apulian Murgia, on the slopes of Monte Samuele Pezzuto. It is a charming town in the province of Taranto, famous for the “District of Ceramics”, developed between the 16th and 17th centuries and dedicated to the traditional ceramic production.

  • (District of Ceramics) Quartiere delle ceramiche
  • (Museum of Ceramics) Il Museo della Ceramica
  • Episcopio Castle
  • Church Matrice
Distanza da Relais Patriarca
36,3 Km / 33 m (by car)    » view the route

Visit Martina Franca

City of “Festival della Valle d’Itria”

Located on the eastern hills of the Apulian Murgia, Martina Franca owes its name partly to the worship to San Martino, who saved the town from enemy invasions, and partly at the time when Filippo d'Angiò offered its inhabitants exemptions on the payment of taxes. The town, in the province of Taranto, is a melting pot of history and art.

  • Cathedral of San Martino
  • Ducal Palace (Palazzo Ducale)
  • Church del Carmine
  • Palace Martucci
Distanza da Relais Patriarca
24,5 Km / 29 m (by car)    » view the route

Visit Alberobello

The city of “Trulli”

Alberobello is famous for its traditional houses (trulli) which, since 6 December 1996, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town is located in the Itria Valley, also known as the Valley of the Trulli.

  • I trulli
  • Cathedral of “Santi Medici”
  • Church of Sant'Antonio

Distance from Relais Patriarca
36,2 Km / 44 m (by car)    » view the route

Visit Taranto

City of two seas

Taranto is known as “the city of two seas” (Mar Grande and Mar Piccolo). Its location has played a leading role in important historical events. These ancient traces are preserved in the National Archaeological Museum, the “MarTA”, where you can admire the famous "Ori of Taranto", important gold finds from the 4th and 2nd centuries BC. It is one of the oldest cities in Italy. Taranto was founded by the Spartans in the 8th century BC and it is the only colony ever founded by Sparta. The city has been the center of philosophy and art for centuries, core of ancient maritime, agricultural, craft and musical traditions.

Taranto is known for its ancient churches, caves, the revolving bridge and for the majestic Cathedral, where faith, devotion and ancient traditions combine during the Holy Week.

Distance from Relais Patriarca
58,4 Km / 55 m (by car) » view the route

Visit Castellana Grotte

The city of caves

Castella Grotte is known above all for its Caves. The Castellana caves, extended for about 3 kilometres, are 330 m below sea level and less than 500 meters from the town. The entire area is characterized by calcareous rocks composed of calcium carbonate. The natural entrance is represented by a huge sixty meters deep chasm called La Grave.

  • Caves
  • Church of San Leone Magno
  • Church del Caroseno
  • Church of San Francesco d'Assisi
Distance from Relais Patriarca
55,3 Km / 49 m (by car) » view the route

Visit Polignano a Mare

Pearl of the Adriatic sea

Polignano a Mare is a town in the province of Bari, overlooking the Adriatic Sea from a coast carved by the sea. 24 meters high, with its white houses and the Greek origins (it can be deduced from its name "polis": city), Polignano a Mare attracts many tourists who are fascinated by this enchanting place that seems to be painted.

  • Abbey of San Vito
  • Mother Church (Chiesa Matrice) "Santa Maria Assunta"
  • Lama Monachile
Distance from Relais Patriarca
50,1 Km / 41 m (by car) » view the route

Visit Matera

European Capital of Culture 2019

Matera is known as the "City of the Stones" and the "Underground City". It is famous around the world for its “Sassi” (stones), which make Matera one of the oldest inhabited cities. The “Sassi” are, since 9 December 1993, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the first site in southern Italy to receive such recognition.

  • Sassi di Matera
  • Churches
  • Castle (Castello Tramontano)
  • Archaeological sites
  • Natural areas
  • Parks
Distance from Relais Patriarca
101 Km / 1 ora 47m (by car) » view the route

Visit Bari

The Capital of Puglia

Bari is the city that keeps the relics of St. Nicholas. For this reason its Cathedral is one of the main centers of the Orthodox Church in the West and also an important place of encounter between Orthodox and Catholics. Bari has always been the core of trade and political-cultural relationships between Eastern Europe and Middle East. Its port is the largest passenger port on the Adriatic Sea. Since 1930 Bari hosts the famous Fiera del Levante, one of the main trade fairs in Italy.

  • Basilica di San Nicola
  • The seafront promenade
  • Norman-Swabian Castle
  • San Sabino
Distance from Relais Patriarca
84,7 Km / 1 ora 9 m (by car) » view the route

Visit Lecce

The baroque city

Lecce is a city of art and culture, known as the City of Baroque: the ancient Messapian origins and the archaeological remains of the Roman period are mixed with the richness and excess of the baroque style. The churches and palaces are built with the local stone, a soft limestone suitable for processing.

  • Duomo of Maria Santissima Assunta
  • Basilica of Santa Croce
  • Roman Amphitheater
  • Castle Carlo V of Lecce

Distance from Relais Patriarca
76,5 Km / 54 m (by car) » view the route

Visit Gallipoli

Città Bella (Beautiful city)

Gallipoli means “beautiful city”: it is a town on the Ionian Sea, 40 km from Lecce. The old town lies on a small limestone island, connected to the new part of the town, on the mainland, by an arched bridge built in the 1900s. The walls, fortifications and towers, which once protected Gallipoli from enemies, today shelter it from storms giving it an evocative charm.

  • Cathedral of Sant'Agata
  • Aragonese Angevin Castle/li>
  • Church of San Francesco d’Assisi
  • “Punta Suina” beaches

Distance from Relais Patriarca
115 Km / 1 ora 19 m (by car) » view the route

Visit Otranto

The easternmost city of Italy

Otranto is located along the Adriatic coast and is the easternmost city in Italy, on the bank of the canal from which it takes its name: the Canale d’Otranto. Otranto has turned, in a few years, in one of the most famous tourist destinations in Puglia, thanks to the cleaning of the sea and the natural views, for holidays in contact with nature.

  • Capo d’Otranto (the most eastern point of Italy)
  • Alimini beaches
  • Baia dei Turchi
  • Porto Badisco
Distance from Relais Patriarca
125 Km / 1 ora 25 m (by car) » view the route

Visit Castel del Monte

UNESCO World Heritage Site

The castle was built directly on a rocky bank and is known for its octagonal shape. On each of the eight edges there are eight towers of the same shape built in local limestone, eight single-lancet windows open in the lower level, seven double-lancet windows and one single three-light window in the upper one. The purpose of this majestic building is still unknown. Architecturally devoid of military elements and ditches, located in a non-strategic area, probably the building was not a fortress.

Distance from Relais Patriarca
140 km / 1 ora 45m (by car) » view the route