Once the ladies of the nobility on the balconies to watch or control the comings and goings of people down. Their skirts, supported by hoops and crinolines, enriched with pleats, puffs and bows, s'incastravano perfectly between the wrought iron railings from the rounded shape, called "goose breast" because of the particular shape but also because noblewomen strutted from up here. Today the tourists are to turn our gaze upwards to admire those elegant railings and fantasize over a period of opulence that made Martina Franca one of the most elegant towns of Puglia, during the eighteenth century. In place of the colors of the clothes, there are plants and flowers, especially pink and white petunias.
Martina Franca is called the "pearl of the Valle d'Itria", so noble with its palace and sinuous motifs on the windows, which seem embroidery and stone evoke the Baroque but around here call "baroque". Over all stands the Palazzo Ducale (Piazza Roma, currently the Town Hall) for the construction of which it took over one hundred years (between 1668 and 1780). It is among the most beautiful in the South, so that there are those who believe that a draw was the Bernini. Golden shares rococo halls precious, some completely frescoed hall of Arcadia is characterized by references to rural life. An invitation to surrender to nature, teacher of life and lavish in his gifts. Myth stands in the hall of "Hercules freeing Hesione from Dragon" and emerges the concept of the defense of the weak.
.To discover Conversano, city of art and rich history, which winds into twisted alleyways that lead to plazas. A town dominated for centuries by women. It was the home of the famous abbesses mitrate, at the monastery of St. Benedict, whose power was often even higher than the bishop. The Municipal Art Gallery, located inside the Castle, welcomes ten majestic paintings depicting episodes of "Jerusalem Delivered" by Torquato Tasso and are the work of the Neapolitan Paolo Finoglio, seventeenth-century painter. Upstairs there is the Museum of Fashion and Costume (free) for a blast from the past. A feast for the eyes between clothes evening dresses in black silk with tulle inserts on the bodice or street clothes, adorned with golden beads, corals and lace. One room is dedicated to marriage. The wives of the nobility dressed in white to differentiate themselves from the people. Then silk damask pastel and beige, with pearls corsage Neapolitan bill of 1892, and a range of accessories for the bride, the handkerchief with lace trim, gloves, socks up to wire, through the prayer book with cover ivory.
Once in the area, one can not reach Polignano a Mare, the birthplace of Domenico Modugno, one of the most scenic villages of Puglia, right on the edge of the cliff, almost specchiasse on the clear waters of the Adriatic. Nearby, the beautiful sandy beaches of San Vito and white pebbles Cala Cala Fear and Porto. The arc marquis introduces the "clock square" with its ancient sundial where stands the church of S. Maria Assunta which houses the relics of the Patron Saint Vitus and the crib by Stefano from Putignano, a national monument. Try a specialty coffee that are only here: a proper espresso or amaretto cream, fitted with steam and completed with a lemon peel. Finally, you reach Castellana, the historic center made of noble palaces of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Among the many churches stand out: the Mother Church, rich in Renaissance and Baroque paintings and the Church of St. Francis of Assisi enclosing amazing baroque altars, adorned with statues and stone carvings dating back to the eighteenth century. But the highlight are the caves (www.grottedicastellana.it) that date back about 100 million years ago. They touch the depth of 60 meters, in a magical setting of stalactites, stalagmites, fossils, cavity, formed by the dripping water and the deposit of calcium carbonate in a very long time: the growth of stalactites is about 1 inch in 50 years , for the stalagmites it takes 100 years for a centimeter. There is a short path of a mile and one of three kilometers leading up to the White Grotta, defined as "the brightest in the world." A spectacular pond contains a gemmatura crystals. Diaphanous white and stalactites in which light is reflected, cover every corner of the cave. A true magic of nature.