It’s not so very long ago that Puglia was off the tourist map, judged as the poor southern relation to culturally rich northern Italy. In the last decade or so, tourists, particularly Italian holidaymakers, have cottoned on to the region’s charms – lovely beaches and the small, cone-shaped dwellings known as trulli have perhaps been its biggest draw.

However, although the heel of Italy’s boot is no longer considered downtrodden, a holiday here remains low-key, connecting with the culture, people and nature in an unhurried way, in keeping with the region’s rural simplicity.