Cook with a cookbook author · Puglia
Salento & Central Puglia with Laura Vitale
A May 2-8, 2027 Puglia food week hosted by Laura Vitale, splitting time between Lecce and Monopoli. Relaxed pace with markets, cooking, olive oil and cheesemaking.
Ask us about this trip →Free to ask. We confirm dates, availability and price before you commit to anything.
What you will do
- Lecce market walk and cooking class
- Gallipoli seafood lunch
- Olive oil press tasting
- Bari orecchiette and spaghetti all'assassina
- Masseria cheesemaking and farm meal
- Alberobello trulli
- Hotel in town walls at Monopoli
Before you go
Eat the region first, then cook it. Everything here is free and saves to your trip.
Who leads it
Laura Vitale
Food content creator, cookbook author and TV host with a large online following; the tour is described as unhurried.
Angelo Calianno
Historian and cultural guide from Cisternino who lives in a trullo and travels with the group all week.
Day by day
- Day 1Lecce arrivalCheck in, welcome prosecco and dinner at a family-run restaurant.
- Day 2LecceMarket walk and cooking class with lunch, free afternoon, evening walking tour and aperitivo.
- Day 3Galatina and GallipoliBasilica and pasticciotto in Galatina, seafood lunch in Gallipoli. Dinner on your own.
- Day 4Move to MonopoliOlive oil press tasting, lunch at a Martina Franca fornello, check in at Don Ferrante.
- Day 5BariSeafront, Bari Vecchia orecchiette makers and spaghetti all'assassina lunch. Evening free.
- Day 6Cheese and trulliMasseria cheesemaking and farm meal, Alberobello trulli, farewell seafood dinner.
- Day 7DepartureCheck out.
Itineraries can shift with weather, season and host availability.
What is included
Included
- Six nights' lodging
- Daily breakfast
- Meals, activities and transportation listed in the itinerary
- Gratuities
Not included
- International travel
- Transfers to and from the hotels
Practical details
- Where you base
- Lecce (3 nights) and Monopoli (3 nights); visits to Galatina, Gallipoli, Martina Franca, Bari and Alberobello
- Where you stay
- Patria Palace Hotel in Lecce (3 nights) and Don Ferrante in Monopoli (3 nights), built into the old town walls.
- Group size
- Limited to 12 participants
- Pace
- Steady. Up to an hour or more of walking a day, at times on hills, uneven ground or stairs, with frequent getting in and out of vehicles. Guests must keep up with the group unassisted.
- Arrival and departure
- Hotel in Lecce on Day 1; no airport meeting point published
- Who it suits
- Relaxed eaters who like markets, seafood and small producers in Puglia.
Good to know
- Traditional dishes often include gluten, fish, meat and cheese. Guests with restrictions are always fed but may not get the full range of the food culture; flexibility needed.
- Itinerary can shift because the trips rely on small family-run businesses; final itinerary is emailed about 30 days before departure
- Ask Via Rosa for deposit and cancellation terms.
- No meeting point is published; the group gathers at the hotel on Day 1
- Dinners on Days 3-5 are largely on your own
- Available when checked
Dates and prices
EUR 6,600 per person double; EUR 7,400 single (EUR 800 supplement). Dates May 2-8, 2027.
More trips in Puglia
Trip details are compiled from the published information of Via Rosa, who runs this trip. Dates, prices and availability change; we reconfirm everything with you before you commit.
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