National Geographic Traveler Magazine
National Geographic Traveler Magazine Announces Its 2014 Best of the World List Features the 21 Best Trips to Take in 2014 November 21, 2013 Limestone dwellings, or trulli, in Puglia, Italy WASHINGTON (Nov. 21, 2013)—National Geographic Traveler magazine today announced its annual Best of the World list, featuring 20 destinations plus a bonus readers’ choice destination to visit in 2014. The list reflects what’s authentic, culturally rich, sustainable and superlative in the world of travel today. The destinations are featured in the December 2013/January 2014 issue of Traveler magazine, available on newsstands Dec. 3, and online at travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/best-trips-2014/. “Our annual Best of the World list doesn’t reflect hot spots drawn from celebrity sightings or travel statistics,” said Keith Bellows, editor in chief of National Geographic Traveler magazine. “It reflects the expertise and experience of National Geographic Travel’s huge network of global travel experts. If you want to explore places worth visiting now, this is a great place to start.” The destinations featured in the 2014 Best of the World list are (in alphabetical order): Alentejo, Portugal Arbil, Iraq Bolaven Plateau, Laos Cacao Trail, Ecuador Cape Verde Cathar Country, France Córdoba, Argentina Derawan Islands, Indonesia (readers’ choice) Guyana John Muir Trail, Scotland Liechtenstein Nahanni National Park, Canada New Orleans, Louisiana Northern Territory, Australia Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda Puglia, Italy Ranthambore National Park, India Riga, Latvia Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Sochi, Russia National Geographic Traveler magazine’s global community of writers, editors and explorers selected 20 of the destinations, and for the first time a readers’ choice submission was also included. To see photographs and learn more about each destination, visittravel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/best-trips-2014/. Press images are available at the FTP site:http://press.nationalgeographic.com/downloads/Megan H/2014_Best_of_the_World username: press | password: press About National Geographic Travel National Geographic Travel is the travel arm of the National Geographic Society, one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations, founded in 1888. National Geographic Travel creates meaningful and engaging travel content and experiences through National Geographic Traveler magazine; National Geographic Expeditions; travel books; maps; apps; digital media; and travel photography programs. National Geographic Traveler (eight issues per year) is the world’s most widely read travel magazine and has 14 international editions. It is available by subscription, on newsstands in the United States and Canada, and digitally for tablets. National Geographic Expeditions, the travel program of the Society, offers a variety of unique travel experiences led by top experts to more than 60 destinations across all seven continents. Travel opportunities include family and student expeditions, active adventures, private jet trips and voyages on the six expedition ships in the National Geographic-Lindblad fleet, as well as photography workshops, expeditions and seminars. The National Geographic Travel digital group offers inspiring and authoritative digital travel and adventure content such as trip ideas, photo galleries, blogs and apps. National Geographic Travel Books bring readers curated travel advice and inspiration. Follow National Geographic Travel on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Why Puglia trumps Tuscany — and where to buy
Why Puglia trumps Tuscany — and where to buy Italy’s sun-drenched heel is cheaper, warmer and less touristy than the traditional favourite, with turquoise waters and a hint of Greece about it Liz Rowlinson Published: 1 June 2014 Comment (0) Print Puglia, Italy’s sun-drenched heel, has long been a well-kept secret. Jutting into the translucent turquoise waters of the Adriatic and Ionian seas, it is a region of breathtaking seascapes and silvery carpets of olive groves, of whitewashed hilltop towns and locals hawking plump vine-ripened tomatoes and homemade olive oil in the noisy bustle of the weekly markets.
The New York Times about Lecce, south Italy
By SETH SHERWOOD AUGUST 8, 2013 Thanks to dozens of mostly Baroque-era churches packing its maze of narrow streets, Lecce, the “Florence of the South,” dazzles with elaborately carved facades and interiors that erupt with symphonies of angels, cherubs, saints, saviors and Madonnas. But this small gem in Italy’s heel is far from a haven of monkish abstemiousness. A capital of southern Italian cooking, the city brims with rustic restaurants serving the hearty peasant cuisine and robust red wines of the Puglia (Apulia in English) region. Throw in a buzzing bar scene and nearby beaches of sun-bronzed bodies and you have a city fit for holy men and hedonists alike. FRIDAY 5 p.m. 1. History and Coffee During the Roman era, some 20,000 spectators would fill the stone seats of the arcaded amphitheater in what is now Piazza Sant’Oronzo. Today the locals tend to congregate on the lively outdoor terrace of Caffè Alvino on the Piazza Sant’Oronzo, which sits alongside the partly excavated ruins and other landmarks from Lecce’s past. Sit back, order a Lecce specialty called caffè in ghiaccio con latte di mandorla (espresso with ice and almond milk) and admire the majestic stone Sedile — a former town hall and armory built in the late 16th century — and the soaring stone pillar topped by a statue of the city’s patron saint, St. Oronzo, from the Baroque period. Slide Show | Scenes From Italy’s Heel Take a stroll around Lecce, a historical town in the Puglia region. 7 p.m. 2. Champion Chiselers No, you’re not hallucinating. With the frenzied crowdedness of a Hieronymus Bosch painting and the intensity of a fever dream, the colonnaded, multitiered and ornately sculptured exterior of Basilica di Santa Croce on Via Umberto, just north of Piazza Sant’Oronzo, bursts exuberantly with hundreds of finely detailed forms. Pacing lions, howling dragons, cross-bearing angels, undersea creatures, turbaned Turks, topless women, urns, scrolls, shells, birds, horses, heralds, shells and flowers fill the facade of Lecce’s iconic church, completed in 1695 after work by three generations of architects and artisans. 8 p.m. 3. Salt of the Earth Trattoria di Nonna Tetti restaurant on the Piazzetta Regina Maria keeps things simple. The décor is a humble amalgam of rough stone, tiles and wood. The culinary components are equally rustic, as befits a restaurant specializing in cucina povera, the “poor people’s food” that has traditionally made up the local diet and is now gaining favor among foodies for its authentic salt-of-the-earth flavors and healthy Mediterranean ingredients. Representatives include fava beans in oil with chicory and a gooey, crunchy, starchy, garlicky gut-filler called ciceri e tria, which blends fried and boiled pasta and cooked chickpeas. Italian classics round out the menu, from caprese and mozzarella antipasti to a spongy tiramisù. A meal for two, without wine, costs around 50 euros, or $65 at $1.30 to the euro. THE NEW YORK TIMES 10 p.m. 4. Start Your Wining Wine bars have sprouted in bunches on Via Umberto I, north of the Basilica di Santa Croce. As night falls, grad student types and young professionals fill their stone-vaulted interiors and spill onto crowded sidewalk tables. Decorated with books, artworks and shelves of wine bottles, boho-cool Vineria Santa Cruz has a lengthy wine list that includes a regional primitivo (similar to zinfandel) from the Tenute di Eméra winery that’s deep, dark, dry and tannic (5 euros a glass). Nearby at Shui, the buttery-yellow paint job and suspended contemporary lighting create a medieval-modern ambience in the stone chapel-like interior. Salice from the Cantele winery (4 euros a glass), made from the negroamaro grape, is acidic and juicy. SATURDAY 10 a.m. 5. Go for Baroque No street in Lecce oozes Baroque extravagance like Via Libertini. Enter the southwestern gate to the city’s historic core, the 18th-century Porta Rudiae, and pop into the Basilica di San Giovanni Battista. Completed in 1728, the church is a soaring, light-flooded expanse ringed by high windows and packed with stunningly detailed carvings of cherubs, wreaths and more. The richly decorated pulpit is flanked by twisting spiral columns and chiseled scenes of the Apocalypse. Farther up Via Libertini on the same side, the 17th-century Chiesa di Santa Teresa has a restrained neo-Classical facade and an interior containing macabre artworks, from an emaciated statue of Jesus writhing in a glass-box coffin to a painting of Salome with the head of St. John. The stunning finale appears in Piazza del Duomo. Alongside a tall, tapering bell tower, the city’s 17th-century cathedral (cattedraledilecce.it) is another highly chiseled edifice that houses stained-glass windows, a coffered wood-and-gilt ceiling and a Greek marble altar decorated with lapis lazuli. Noon 6. Deli Cafe by the Duomo Tucked next to Piazza del Duomo, Doppiozero is a hip, modern, delicatessen-style restaurant amid the time-fissured buildings. Under a jazzy soundtrack, convivial groups fill long communal tables illuminated by abstract arty lamps made from half-melted glass bottles. One wall is stacked with pastas, olive oils and wines for takeout; the other is lined by a deli counter showcasing fresh cheeses (Gorgonzola, pecorino, scimudin) and cured meats (salami, speck and coppa) that get sliced into made-to-order combo platters. Also worthwhile are the bite-size meatballs in zesty tomato-onion sauce and the roast beef crostini with horseradish mayonnaise. Lunch for two is 30 to 40 euros. 2 p.m. 7. The Big Sleep Lecce residents love their siesta, and from 2 to 5 p.m., shops close, squares empty and the great snooze ensues. Don’t succumb. Across from the entrance to the 16th-century Castello di Carlo V, catch the No. 32 bus at 2 p.m. sharp (it runs infrequently; 39-0832-340-898) and get off in the seaside town of San Cataldo, about six miles away. South from the lighthouse, the palm-lined boardwalk overlooks craggy promontories and sandy beaches of bright green-blue water that make scenic spots for a stroll, picnic, tryst, tan or splash. 6 p.m. 8. Retail Revival Footsteps and voices return to Lecce’s streets and shops at the end of the afternoon. Boutiques for local goods beckon near