Apulia off the beaten path

Castel del Monte - Weird, octagonal Norman-era castle sprouting from olive groves.

Santa Caterina d'Alessandria, Galatina - Slathered in Technicolor medieval frescoes the style of Giotto.

Rent a trullo in Alberobello- Rather than just snap pictures of Italy's oddest architecture, why not live in one for a spell?

Castello Svevo-Aragonese, Manfredonia - Prehistoric statue-steles at a conveniently beach-adjacent castle-museum.

The secret road of the Valle d'Itria - Travel back in time along a dirt road through the heart of trulli country.

Grottaglie - One of Italy's unsung ceramics capitals.

Cathedral of Trani - This thousand-year-old cathedral perches by the sea where fishermen mend nets in the shade of its belltower.

Papier-mâché in Lecce - All crafts, really—Lecce is a crafty town, with lace, ironwork, and cermaics as well—but the papier-mâché industry here is fascinating, with studios across town producing everything from six-inch figurines for mantlepieces up to life-sized saints for church altars.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale Jatta, Ruvo di Puglia - Tiny but utterly amazing collection of Greek-era vases; also: free.

Santa Croce, Lecce - A baroque riot of animistic symbolism and statuary covers the facade of this Lecce church.