Fantastic Tour
Author: Lou DeMarco
Date: 12/8/2008 hour 2:36:28

Angelo's tour of Puglia was the highlight of my recent trip to Italy. Puglia is a gem of a region featuring memorable sites and fantastic food. And if you ever thought of travelling to Puglia I would definitely recommend Angelo's tour.
Angelo is knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and accommodating. And his tour was thoughtful and well-planned.
Thank you, Angelo, for the experience!

Enjoyed a wonderful visit in Puglia
Author: Michele Chang
Date: 18/7/2008 hour 15:38:22

I just finished a 3-day tour with Experience Puglia Tours, and I would definitely recommend it for independent travelers. I would have never imagined that having a private tour would be affordable, but in a place like Puglia and with a guide like Angelo it was completely worthwhile! He not only brought me to the major tourist sites that you would expect (castles, churches, etc.) he also made a point of sharing his love for his region and what makes it special, whether it is explaining complex history or stopping by his local cheese shop so that you can taste the best mozzarella of your life (when it’s that good it doesn’t even need bread, tomatoes or anything else!). It was a relief not having to drive around, worry about train or bus schedules, wonder where the best places to eat were, which are the best beaches to hit, or how to make the most out of your limited vacation time--everything is taken care of! Angelo is very friendly and knowledgeable, I really enjoyed my time with him. Highly recommended!

More about 4 couples to Bari
Author: Mattia & Tom Healy
Date: 31/5/2008 hour 19:40:0

We are one of the 4 couples on the trip to Puglia with the Medlars, and we just want to add that our trip under Angelo's direction was a great success. We had a wonderful time. The visits to the vineyard for primitivo, the olive grove & press for outstanding local olive oil, the 500 year old bakery for tasty focaccia, the fabulous country restaurants for delicious lunches with amazing antipastos were wonderful experiences. The sightseeing in Goia de Colle, & to Matera & the Sassi, Trani, Castel del Monte, Bari, the Castellana Caves, Poignano and Alberobello & the Trulli were excellent. Of course, for us the 2 visits to Santermo to see My Italian famiglia, aqnd visit the town my father and his family came from, was the high point.
Thanks again, Angelo.
We highly recommend Angelo's experiencepuglia.com tour service

Mattia & Tom Healy

4 couples to Bari
Author: rosann and jim medlar
Date: 30/5/2008 hour 10:52:17

we were 8 people travelling to Bari (to see our fathers birthplace-santeramo in colle) (2 of us had been there before) and no one wanted to drive so I happened to go to Trip Advisor and started asking questions about getting around Bari and this man answered my blog about how Angelo had been such a good tour guide and spoke english well so I contacted him and got the ball rolling - we set aside 2 days for family - Angelo drove us over and then came back to pick us up. Angelo kept us busy - you have to understand most of us were over 65 - I don't know if Angelo came down to our pace or we went up to his. What was so great our itinerary had 4 lunches and 2 dinners included and with the Euro vs the US dollar that was a pleasant surprise. this was great because when you are in a strange place you never know what restaurant to go to unless someone has been there and recommends it - so Angelo took care of that for us and I would say they were all very good - my favorites were Osteria de borgo antico right in Gioia and on one of our tour days the Antichi Sapori superb. We enoyed the winery and oil mill - my husband and I had been to Matera before but I think the rest of the party was taken back by it just thinking people lived in the rocks up until 1963 amazing - the castles, cathedrals, the sea, churches, museums, and alberobello were great as was our guide Angelo.

Elizabeth and Bruce from New Zealand
Author: Elizabeth and Bruce
Date: 11/2/2008 hour 10:1:53

January 2008. We had the privilege of spending 7 days with Angelo in
Puglia. We arrived and departed by AirOne, an excellent service, from Bari
airport where Angelo picked us up and dropped us off. In our 7 days with
Angelo we travelled from the Gargano Peninsular in the north
of Puglia, to the incredible Matera in the south. We participated in a
street Carnival and sipped fine Primitivo wine. Angelo is a true gentleman,
and intelligent with it. He very politely put up with all our requests and
sometimes rude demands. He will know the ones we mean! On request he took us to olive oil mills and sacred convents, to lovely fish restaurants and Bari
fish market. We were planning to retrace the steps of Elizabeth's New Zeland
father during World War 2 when as a Kiwi soldier he fought his way north to
Casino through Puglia. Angelo patiently showed us the way. If you get the
chance to travel and to be guided by Angelo, anywhere in the beautiful
province of Puglia, you will have a memorable and rich experience. Like to
so many of his other guests, we now consider him a friend. He is one of
those rarest of commodities, a fine person who can be trusted. Go for it,
and enjoy Puglia too. One day we will do it again...but only with Angelo

My holiday in Puglia
Author: Josiah Pierce
Date: 10/12/2007 hour 15:8:30

Angelo, Thank you for spending the time with my wife and I showing us
Puglia. This was our fourth trip to Italy and we wanted to get away from
the normal tourist areas. That is what we found in Puglia. Our time with
you was spent seeing memorable sights , yes, but also talking with you.
Your listening skills are very good and we talked about the things that my
wife and I are interested in. Your knowledge of Puglia is very broad. What
I was most impressed with though was your love for the area. You convinced
me that I want to come back.
Thank you,
Josiah Pierce
Baldwin, Maine

Wonderful Puglia
Author: Steve and Jane Williams
Date: 13/10/2007 hour 12:51:16

This was our first visit to Puglia and thankfully we had seen the Experience Puglia website and arranged for Angelo to be our guide. We chose the three day tour and it proved to be a wonderful decision. Angelo was superb - he speaks and writes perfect English, is an excellent driver, is hugely knowledgeable about the history, wine and food of Puglia and is totally committed to providing you with what you want and is great value for money. As an added bonus he clearly adores and is rightly proud about the Puglian heritage and culture and this commitment and enthusiasm shines through.

Angelo arranged for us to stay in a wonderful hotel, called the Corte Altavilla at Conversano about 10 miles inland from Bari. The town itself has a wonderful castle, cathedral and old town within a few hundred yards of the hotel and the hotel itself was absolutely marvellous. We had been given a suite on the second floor, with a balcony overlooking the cathedral - all within his set price. When we arrived we were greeted warmly and they had even put fresh fresh rose petals in the room as a welcome. Although the building was very old and a wonderful atmosphere, everything about the facilities was modern and comfortable and the breakfasts superb. As part of the 3 day tour Angelo had arranged a cookery demonstration at the hotel with their wonderful cook Patrisia and that was a delight, as was eating the final dishes - all Puglian specialities.

The three days we spent with Angelo are adequately described within this website but I have to say that they exceeded our expectation. Yes the places we visited were fascinating and we loved Trani (and its unbelievably beautiful Cathedral), Polignano (and its calm sea side air), Gioia del Colle (with its incredible museum of world class artifacts) and Maneta and Alborobello etc etc but it ws more than this. The most wonderful thing was the culture and the heritage of Puglia and its people. One didn't feel like a tourist who was tramping around a pre-set journey... one was made to feel an individual particularly by the local people, who were proud of their area and clearly responded if you genuinely showed your liking for their region.

This was particulrly shown at a wine tasting arranged by Angelo at a DOC Primitivo vineyard which took place on the owners terrace. Angelo had bought some local mozzarella to go with the tasting but quite unexpectedly the mother of the vineyard owner arrived. She couldn't speak English or us Italian but we were warmly welcomed by her. Soon the home made olives were produced which were wonderful ... she was delighted that we were delighted ... then came a bottle with home made figs stuffed with almonds ..... more mutual delight .... then home made cheese and freshly picked tomatoes and local bread. The only problem Angelo had already booked a lunch at a local restaurant but so what we just did both.

The restaurants Angelo chose for lunch were excellent and the cost fully included in the price, as was the wine that accompanied the meals ( in this regard Angelo is quite an authority and I learned a great deal about Italian wine). Quality was paramount and was another example of the great value for money provided by the Experience Puglia event. No corners were cut in offering you the best possible feel for Puglia ..... this ultimately is the best compliment i can pay. And yes I was seduced by Puglia and my wife and I had a most wonderful and unforgettable few days. Thank you Angelo for showing us a wonderful region in such a professional and posive manner.

Trip to Gioia
Author: Frank and Pat Mancini
Date: 3/10/2006 hour 3:40

My wife and I just returned from a two week trip to Puglia. The first three days we spent in Gioia del Colle, the hometown of my Grandfather, who immigrated to the U.S.A. in 1905. Our guide and now friend Angelo is extremely knowledgable about the area and its history. Angelo took us to see wine and mozzarella being made, the beautiful countryside and historic sites. I have never tasted better or fresher food. The highlight of our tour, because of Angelos research, was meeting relatives that I did not know of. The whole region of Puglia still has a rugged beauty about it and I imagine it has not changed much over the years. The food, the people, the beauty and the enthusiasm of Angelo rubs off on you. Thanks to our new friend Angelo, the first three days in Gioia were the best of my time in Puglia. I felt I came full circle and was home again.
Thank you Angelo

My stay in Puglia
Author: Maria
Date: 28/6/2006 hour 17:44

I recently visited Puglia and stayed for three nights in the town of Gioia del Colle in particular. This is where I had the pleasure of meeting Angelo, the gentleman who is responsible for Experience Puglia. His assistance and indept knowledge of this wonderful part of Italy helped to make my stay an exraordinarily lovely experience.

Puglia itself is a fascinating region with a diverse range of things to see and do for anyone. In Gioia the is a beautiful castle and museum to visit, you can see fossils from the sea in the brickwork of the oldest buildings, still to been seen in numerous locations about the town are the old symbols of the facist regime at the time of the second world war, there are some fabulous buildings to admire from this period also which are grand and ornately decorated.

The food is second to none, and of course the Olive Oil for which Puglia is celebrated in all of Italy and even the world is reason enough to visit this untouched beauty spot.

Gioia in particular is very well positioned as a base for visiting many other areas of interest such as Alberobello, a town with beatiful old style Trullo houses particular to Puglia, which while a tourist hotspot is worth seeing for the sheer prettiness of it. There is also a magnificent church, builid as a Trullo but on a much larger scale also with fossils in the brickwork and it is definately worth seeing once.

Polignano is also within 20 mins drive, a beautiful untouched seaside town that isn't even in the lonely planet guides we travelers so rely on. This town has beautiful narrow cobbled streets and is not touristy in the least. There are beautiful spots for swimming in completely crystal waters, where if you require you can rent boats and even scuba dive. There are caves under the town (which is perched on a cliff) where you can take a boat and there is also a very old restaurant in these caves right in the mddlie of the cliff on which the town stands. The restaurant is centuries old and in the the past grand balls would
have been held there by the aristocracy.

There are many other beautiful sights in the surrounding area to take
in and here I have described only a few.

Angelo took me on wonderful tours of both the olive oil and wine firms
both of which he offers tours of. I was very impressed by both, getting a complete tour and explanation from start to finish on how each product is made with some lovely tasters to boot.

I had a wonderful time during my (unfortunately) brief visit to Puglia and I am already making plans for my return. Its not only the things to see and do here that are so attractive to me, but also the people, who are so friendly, so accomodating and genuine that its hard not to feel at home.

Thanks Angelo for all your help and time, you made my trip unforgetably wonderful.

Maria Mangan

Owner - Bella Italia
Author: Bill Menard
Date: 3/3/2006 hour 18:39

My wife and I recently (Feb. 2006) returned from a trip to Italy that included our first visit to Puglia. This inaugural visit to Puglia was organized and hosted by Angelo, and I can honestly report that it was a fantastic way to be introduced to this fascinating and most enjoyable region.

We travel to Italy frequently, 2-3 times per year, in connection with our business (Bella Italia, a retail store in the Washington, D.C. area that specializes in gourmet food products and hand painted ceramics imported directly from Italy). We had never made our way to Puglia, however, and were looking forward to visiting this area, which has recently captured the imagination of the American tourist.

Angelo organized a wonderful 3 day visit, complete with accommodations at the B&B referred to on this site. We visited the Monte Sannace geological site, the Norman castle and historic center of Gioia del Colle, took a day trip to the beautiful seaside town of Polignano and to the trulli of Alberobello, visited a wonderful winery and olive oil mill and ate some of the best food we have had in Italy (and that is saying a lot!). Puglia is not so difficult to get to - the highway from Naples is excellent and the distances not so great. But it is a different world from the tourist clogged streets of central and northern Italy. I highly recommend a visit and expect that you will fall in love with it, as we did.

And what can we say about Angelo? He is a gentleman and a scholar. We spent our days with him and he proved to be a wonderful host and companion. Knowledgeable about the history of Puglia and especially his native Gioia del Colle, eloquent about the food and wines of his region and, above all, passionate about anything Puglian. His passion is infectious and because of it we came away with a love of Puglia that we may have otherwise missed.

(You can read about our visit on our website at http://bellaitaliaonline.com/news/news-detail.asp?newsID=83)

http://www.bellaitaliaonline.com