(ANSA) - Rome, January 11 - Two Italian regions, Puglia and
Liguria, made this year's New York Times Places to Go list.
Puglia was 18th and Liguria's Golfo Paradiso area 25th.
On Puglia, the NYt said the ancient fortified farmhouses
called masserie, found only in the region, are increasingly
being turned into boutique hotels, most notably Rocco Forte's
Masseria Torre Maizza, and the 17th-century Castello di Ugento,
where guests can take cooking classes at the Puglia Culinary
Center.
And the region's 1,000-year-old wine culture, which began
when the Greeks planted vines from their land across the
Adriatic, is attracting more oenophiles to the area, including
the Antinori family, who recently opened Tormaresca bistro in
Lecce as part of their expansion in the region.
Puglia is also home to Europe's Virgin Galactic spaceport,
which is scheduled to open in 2019, with the promise of
eventually sending passengers into space.
On Liguria's Golfo Paradiso, the NYT said the well-known
pearls of the Ligurian Riviera - Portofino, Cinque Terre,
Portovenere - are now overwhelmed with tourists, a problem so
acute that in some areas authorities have debated measures to
stem the flow of day-trippers.
But just a few miles away, between glamorous Portofino and
the industrial port of Genoa, remains a peaceful sliver of
coastline rarely explored by travelers to the region.
Known as the Golfo Paradiso, this small gulf is home to five
often-overlooked villages, including Camogli, a colorful fishing
hamlet as charming as any of the Cinque Terre.
Italians will boast about the renowned local cuisine:
fresh-caught anchovies, hand-rolled trofie pasta and
cheese-filled focaccia from the town of Recco, a specialty that
recently earned I.G.P. status, a prestigious Italian designation
for quality food products.
Between meals, explore blooming gardens in Pieve Ligure,
beaches in Sori and the Romanesque abbey of San Fruttuoso, which
is accessible only by boat or a long, sweaty hike.
photo: San Fruttuoso
Puglia, Liguria make NYT places to go list
Charms of masserie, Golfo Paradiso hailed