"A journey to Puglia is a journey through a continent of ancient history." Cesare Brandi Puglia is a southern region forming the "heel" of the Italian boot. It's famous for its hilltop villages with characteristic white plaster, for its countryside with an ancient flavor, and for hundreds of kilometers of Mediterranean coastline. The capital, Bari, is a lively port city and university town, while Lecce is known as the "Florence of the South" due to its Baroque architecture.  Alberobello and the Itria Valley, on the other hand, are the homeland of trulli, traditional stone buildings with distinctive cone-shaped roofs.