Throughout the millenniums life in this part of the instep of the boot has been turbulent. Countless invasions have taken place and
Apulia was occupied by a series of peoples: Greek, Roman, Lombard, Arab, Byzantine, Norman, Hohenstaufen, French and Spanish - even the Austrians have ruled here! The many different cultures have left their mark on the country, the food and on the architecture. Here are Christian churches with Islamic features. Here are whitewashed villages with blue shutters that might as well be in Greece. Here is food with both western and eastern flavours.
Apulia is also home to an invaluable treasure trove of churches and castles dating back to the time when the Normans and their successors, the Hohenstaufens, ruled the country. In other parts of the world these magnificent buildings would be considered outstanding, but here they can be seen frequently and don't attract too much interest.
Today
Apulia is largely covered by olive groves and the region accounts for up to 50% of Italy's total olive oil production. The olive tree can grow for 800-1000 years, but - contrary to popular belief – it fruits already after 3 years. It was treasured by the Romans, the Egyptians and the Greeks. The sometimes-bizarre shape of the trees is caused by planting several seeds together to compensate for possible fungus attack. In reality there are many different kinds of olives, and variety as well as degree of ripeness is important to determine usage. Generally speaking, the olives used for oil production must be fully ripe. The flesh can contain up to 60% oil, whereas the stone may only have 15%; the quality of the oil depends on the acidity content. For canning, the fruit can be ripe or unripe, black or green.
Agriculture and agricultural produce features strongly in
Apulia. Vegetables, fruit and wine are widely produced For a more specialized crop think sun dried tomatoes. They are made by splitting tomatoes, sprinkling them with salt and leaving them to dry in the sun for a couple of weeks. Tomatoes for canning and drying are harvested in August/September. Almonds are grown especially around
Alberobello. The almond shells are used for making liqueur. And strange as it may sound, tobacco is also grown on the Salento peninsula.
Apulia has produced wine for a long time, but up until a few years ago not particularly well. The region was known for producing huge amounts of robust wine of dubious quality. Thus most of the wine used in the north Italian vermouth production (Cinzano, Martini etc.) came - and still comes - from
Apulia. For many decades the Tuscan and
Piedmontese wine growers added the solid
Apulian red wine to their weak vintages to boost the vitamin content. Today many wine producers in
Apulia realize the region's great potential and have started focusing on quality rather than quantity. There is still a long way to go to reach the standards of wines from north and central Italy, but producers like Leone de Castris, Taurino Cosimo and Conti Zecca are at the moment bringing out wines winning international recognition. Wines like Primitivo and Salice Salentino made from the local grapes Negroamaro and Primitivo are well worth trying. They are full of fruit, strength and …alcohol.
