Welcome to the world of Gesthotels Hospitality Group with taste is the slogan of Mediterranean Cuisine and it's just what we consider to be the best way of going through countries and lands of Mediterranean and, in particular, of our region: Apulia.
In this strip of land, South-East of Italy, there is all you've ever dreamed: clear deep blue sea and golden beaches, magic Medieval castles and impressive cathedrals, fair cone-shaped houses (trulli) and old fortified farmhouses, wide landscapes of earth and stones and fascinating naturalistic oases, elegant baroque towns and little white Medieval villages, laborious artisan's shops and tasty delicacies of the best Apulian gastronomic tradition. In few words, pleasant voyages of discovery along ancient and unusual itineraries in the relaxing and colourful atmosphere of Apulia.
That's all that we can organize together with you:
Gourmet travels: The authentic tastes of Apulian Cuisine You can appreciate Apulian hospitality in many ways: the spontaneous generosity and liveliness of its inhabitants, the intense colours of the landscape, the dazzling white of the little streets and houses, the wide valleys of vineyards and olive-groves and, first of all, the delicious specialities of the Apulian traditional cuisine. Wheat, oil and wine: three simple and healthy elements which have caught the attention of all experienced nutritionists of the world, who believe that our cuisine is the healthiest in the world. Home-made pasta, "focacce" and "pizzelle" made according to the traditional recipe, fresh cheeses such as "burrate" or "cacio", all sorts of season jams and preserves are only some of the delicacies we will discover in our tour among wine farms and "masserie". We'll start from the Itria Valley, the land of young white grapes which change into the noble white wine of Locorotondo; then we'll move northward where we'll visit a famous wine farm and, finally, we'll discover the Apulian "masserie", where once farmers and landowners used to live together in a self-sufficient world: they lived on what they produced and only here it's still possible to find the genuine country products. The tour will stop only after visiting some wine farms of the Salentine peninsula in which we'll taste some of the finest Apulian wines.
Cooking schools A culinary journey through Apulia The Mediterranean diet is now internationally famous and has been praised by nutrition scientists from all over the world. Our food is not only healthy, it is also very tasty. It's a way of eating while caring for one's own body and, at the same time, a way of expressing culinary creativity and, finally, of experiencing great gourmet joys. Farmhouses can provide the best background to this itinerary cooking programme. These rural settings consist of a main building and outhouses where agricultural activities used to take place. Most also have a private chapel and the whole site is generally surrounded by a high protective wall. In the cooking schools the old massaie will teach you the secrets of traditional apulian cuisine and our young chef will tell you how to creatively change the apulian tradition, always in a mediteranean way.
Olive Oil culture Olive oil, i. e. Apulian gold, is the corner stone of the Mediterranean diet. It has been produced virtually since the beginning of recorded history. The trace of its production can be still read on the Apulian territory and amazing as it may seem, the pressing system is the same as in the 5th-4th century B. C. The so called hypogean oil-mills date back to the time of the first cave dwellers in the Neolithic period. In the eleventh century, their caves were inhabited by Eastern monks who had escaped from religious persecution. Later, they were used by the peasants and, finally, they were enclosed in the large properties belonging to the masserie (old farmhouses), where they can still be admired. Apart from the these historical aspects, the course will concentrate on distinguishing between the various types of olive oil produced in modern times and how they are best used, with the guidance of olive oil experts.
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Incentive travels: The calendar of Mini-incentive January: fishing boats and Madonnas February: the Carnival March: magic castels April: the procession of the Holy Week May: nature and gourmet June: Saints, Madonnas and knights July: authentic worlds, the "masserie" August: the colours of sea, sky and earth September the village feasts and the sea October vegetables and delicious preserves November mushrooms and wine December the legend of Saint Nicholas