Puglia

Olive groves, white towns and fortified farmhouses on the heel of Italy, between two seas.

Puglia is the heel of Italy’s boot: a long, flat to gently rolling land of ancient olive trees and dry-stone walls, with the Adriatic on one side and the Ionian on the other. Inland are the trulli, the round stone houses of the Valle d’Itria, whose town of Alberobello is a UNESCO World Heritage site; on the coast, whitewashed towns sit on limestone cliffs.

Weddings happen in masserie — old fortified farmhouses, many of them country hotels today — with long tables among the olive trees, lights in the branches and dinner late into a warm night.

A ceremony arch with white drapes on a lawn among olive trees

White houses on limestone cliffs over the sea at Polignano a Mare

A whitewashed lane in Ostuni with bougainvillea and potted plants

Through the year

When to marry in Puglia

May, June and September are warm and bright, with the sea good for swimming from June. July and August are hot, and the coast fills with Italians on holiday, above all around mid-August. October is still mild, with a little more rain.

January: Quieter
February: Quieter
March: Quieter
April: Good with planning
May: Best
June: Best
July: Good with planning
August: Good with planning
September: Best
October: Good with planning
November: Quieter
December: Quieter

SpringWild flowers between the olive trees and fields still green. Evenings can be cool — have wraps for the guests.
SummerHot, mostly dry days, long evenings and warm nights: dinner outside, a swim the next morning. Shade and a late timeline matter most.
AutumnA warm sea in September, then the grape and olive harvests. The light softens and the summer crowds go home.

Places

Where couples marry here

The kinds of places — ask your photographer which ones they know well.

Masserie among the olive trees
Fortified farmhouses with courtyards, white walls and pools: the whole weekend in one place.
Trulli and the Valle d’Itria
Stone houses with cone-shaped roofs among vineyards and dry-stone walls, for a small wedding or for portraits.
White towns
Lime-washed lanes, stairways and baroque churches — a ceremony in town, then a walk before dinner.
Cliffs and coves
Limestone cliffs and clear water on the Adriatic, and sandy beaches further south in the Salento.

Light

How the light falls

Flat land, white stone and sea on both sides make for bright, reflected light — hard at midday, glowing at either end of the day, when the white walls turn pink and gold. The Adriatic coast faces east, for sunrise over the sea; for the sun setting into it, the Ionian side of the Salento faces west.

Travel

Getting there

Fly into Bari or Brindisi; the Valle d’Itria lies between them, about an hour by car from either. A car is all but essential, and it is worth arranging transport for the guests — the masserie are out in the country.

Photographers