'An Evening in Puglia': a cultural and photography presentation with Anita Sanseverino. Tuesday, June 4th @ 7:00 PM. The Italian Cultural Foundation at Casa Belvedere, 79 Howard Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301. Click here to register. Q & A, Refreshments and a light reception will follow.

PUGLIA has everything: Castles, Forts, Lighthouses, an abundance of seascapes in rainbow colors, beaches and rock formations, caves and arches formed over millions of years, olive groves with trees whose roots are over 1000 years old. It has landscapes and gardens and flowering trees along roadsides, blinding white limestone buildings and sunshine that makes the colors of the flowers look brighter and deeper than anywhere else!

The first time Anita visited the Region of Puglia, she was stunned by the beauty of the area, particularly the Salento coast. Anita was there at the invitation of Flavia Panckiewicz, publisher of BRIDGE-APULIA magazine. After visiting many towns along the coast and being amazed by the extraordinarily varied colors of the beaches there, Anita described it as being "BETTER THAN THE CARIBBEAN". That became the title of the magazine article about Anita's visit to the area.

Considering it one of Italy's best kept secrets, Anita wanted to know more about the region, the history, traditions, and the changing contemporary scene.

Puglia was part of Magna Grecia , later was conquered by many invaders from the Goths, Saracens, Lombards, to the Byzantines and Normans.

Please join us for a look into this area rich in beauty and history. The Italians have always flocked to the beautiful beaches here and it has recently been seeing an increase in tourism from outside of Italy, Learn about this lesser known but fascinating region, and see the beauty through Anita's photographs, set to music, by Lou Barrella.