Finally, here we are! August is the month which rhymes with holidays, suitcases, departures and entertainment. Here are some tips on how to spend the most anticipated days of the year in Valle d’Itria!
# 1 Enjoy the night of San Lorenzo
During the summer evenings it is fabulous to roll your eyes to admire the stars and constellations that cover the sky and it is even more impressive to admire it on August 10th, when the “lacrime San Lorenzo” (tears of San Lorenzo), or Perseid meteors, illuminate the sky.
A magical night, where you can lose yourself in the infinite expanse that is the night sky, in which the desires of each person can become reality!
To admire the stars in the best way, it is necessary to find a place where there are not many lights so if you are a sweet couple looking for tenderness and romantic astral landscapes, we suggest you to spend a quiet and scented countryside weekend of August 10th in Valle d’Itria. We recommend the area of the Canale di Pirro, a natural valley of karstic origin between the municipalities of Putignano, Castellana Grotte, Alberobello, Monopoli, Fasano and Locorotondo. Here you will feel immersed in nature and surrounded by the starry sky, ideal for spending a night with your head up.
# 2 Savor the tastes of this land: the Ceglie Food Festival in Ceglie Messapica
Hands up if you are thinking of Puglia and cannot help but fantasize about food and delicious dishes! If you recognize yourself in this definition you cannot miss the Ceglie Food Festival which is held in Ceglie Messapica from 8th to 11th August.
The Ceglie Food Festival, now in its eleventh edition, has now become a landmark event for Italian and foreign gourmets and is one of the most important food and wine events in Puglia. During the Festival, there are many events, including in-depth meetings, such as conferences and debates, but above all, what we recommend you to wander around the historic centre of this beautiful village where you will find dozens of food stands able to tickle your palate! Don’t let your taste buds lose this experience!
# 3 Discover the traditions: Locorotondo and its San Rocco fireworks festival
The week of August in Locorotondo is tinged with tradition and emotion, in this period falls the patron saint’s day dedicated to San Rocco! The centrepiece of the event is the spectacular pyrotechnic competition held on the evening of August 16th and which attracts people from all over Puglia. The fireworks light up the entire Valle d’Itria, so the best places to watch the show is on Via Nardelli, known by all as the seafront, and Via Einaudi. Thousands flock to admire the competition for this we advise you to get your location around 23 / 23.30 and not to abandon it until the end of the show.
Shortly after midnight, the first firework starts the competition, so everyone with their head raised to watch a unique show where three master stokers challenge each other with pyrotechnic effects. But if you want to feel like real locorotondesi then you should not miss the “Diana”, a sweet and short musical composition that is played, by a group of musicians, in the night between 15th and 16th August until the first light of dawn in the old city (and not only), and that starts off Patronal Festival.
# 4 Landscapes to taste: cycle excursion in the coastal dune park with olive oil tasting
If for you the holiday is also for adventure, here is a proposal to spend an evening dedicated to sport and nature. Every Monday in August, the Serapia Cooperative organizes an excursion cycle inside the Parco delle Dune Costiere. The route, of about 20 km, follows the route of the ancient Via Traiana – the Roman road that connected Rome to Brindisi – thus allowing you to make a real journey through time, up to prehistory. In fact, along the route you will also encounter the Dolmen of Montalbano (Fasano) dating back most likely to the early Bronze Age, around 2000-1500 BC.
The path that winds through majestic ancient olive trees will lead you to the Masseria Li Santuri, where you can visit an ancient underground oil mill. Then you will pedal up to the Masseria Narducci farmhouse, where a tasting of Puglia’s gold, extra virgin olive oil, will await you.
# 5 Experiences in Valle d’Itria: the fig tree married at the Pomona Botanical Conservatory
If you like to immerse yourself in the local culture and traditions when you travel, meet local people and share moments with other travellers, we have the right experience for you.
Puglia is not only a land rich in art and folklore, but also unique and natural in flavours, and figs certainly represent a symbolic product of the region.
Immersed in the welcoming landscape of the “I giardini di Pomona” botanical conservatory, you can learn one of the sweetest recipes of our tradition: the “maritato fig”. This dessert was offered in the past during weddings and is prepared with open figs, dried in the August sun, overlapped on each other with an almond in the middle.
The day will begin with a walk in the ficheto where you can taste and pick the figs directly from the trees, choosing from the hundreds of varieties those most suitable for drying. Then you will prepare the sweet figs with toasted almonds and lemon zest following the traditional ways.