Carnival Putignano puts on Puglia’s most extravagant carnival celebrations. The highlight are a series of parades featuring fantastical floats peopled by giant papier-mâché figures. Manfredonia is another town known for its exuberant carnival floats and costumed fun.
Holy Week The run-up to Easter is marked by events across the region. Particularly dramatic are the nocturnal processions in Taranto which see teams of barefoot penitents march through the streets in sinister white robes. Elsewhere, white-robed pappamusci parade through Francavilla Fontana, costumed actors recreate the Passion in Troia, and confraternities chant their way around Vico del Gargano.
Libando Fast food fans can eat their fill at Foggia’s street food festival. Expect tastings, workshops and demonstrations by international chefs.
Bifest Bari’s International Film Fest draws directors and cinema buffs to the city, hosting premieres, movie labs, meetings and retrospectives.
Federicus Costumed parades and historical re-enactments take to the streets of Altamura as the city pays homage to its medieval founder, Frederick II.
Festa di San Nicola Bari celebrates its patron saint with services in the Basilica of San Nicola and costumed processions. To commemorate the arrival of St Nicholas’ relics from Turkey, a flotilla of boats accompanies a statue of the saint to the shore.
Palio di Taranto Costumed oarsmen from Taranto’s 10 traditional districts take to the sea for boat races held to commemorate the city’s patron saint, St Catald.
Festa del Soccorso Daredevils known as fujenti run through an obstacle course of fireworks at San Severo’s big annual celebration. Much noise and smoke ensue.
Maggio Musicale Salentino Jazz, pop, classical, even rock concerts are staged at the Teatro Paisiello in Lecce for this annual music festival.
Festival del Cinema Europeo Cinema buffs descend on Lecce for a week-long binge of film screenings, debates and meetings.
Regata Internazionale Brindisi–Corfù One of the principal regattas in the Adriatic, this international sailing event draws teams from across Europe to Brindisi.
Festa dei Lampioni On the night of the summer solstice, Calimera bursts into colour as light sculptures (lampioni) go on display in the historic centre. Made out of paper, they are a haunting spectacle.
Viva! Festival Dance beats echo around the picturesque streets of Locorotondo as this important electronic music fest moves into town.
Valle d’Itria Festival One of Puglia’s biggest summer events, this music festival sees classical music and opera take to the piazzas and palaces of Martina Franca’s baroque centre.
Festa di Santa Domenica Visitors flock to Scorrano in the first week of July to marvel at the stunning light displays put on in honour of St Dominica.
Accadia Blues This renowned blues festival, held on the third weekend of July, draws international performers to the small village of Accadia in the Daunian Mountains.
Orsara Musica Jazz Festival Big name jazz artists play to enthusiastic audiences in the Dauni village of Orsara di Puglia.
Festa di Cinema del Reale Experimental cinema by Italian and international filmmakers headlines at this four-day Salento film fest. It moves around but recent editions have been held at Corigliano d’Otranto.
Locus Festival From David Byrne to Ms Lauryn Hill, this hip music festival attracts international stars and homegrown bands to Locorotondo in late July.
Torneo dei Rioni Costumed processions take to the streets of Oria to commemorate the wedding of Frederick II and Isabella of Brienne as the town's four historic neighborhoods battle it out for the prized Palio.
Notte della Taranta First held in 1998 as a homage to the pizzica folk dance, this itinerant festival is hugely popular as it travels through the region. It culminates in a mega-concert in Melpignano.
Festa di San Rocco Crowds gather outside the Santuario di Torrepaduli in Ruffano on the night of 15 August to watch duelling couples perform a traditional ‘knife dance’ to the sounds of the pizzica.
Mercatino del Gusto di Maglie Stalls showcasing the tastes of the Salento provide rich pickings for food fans in the historic streets of Maglie.
Raduno dei Suonatori di Tarantella UNESCO-listed Monte Sant’Angelo’s medieval castle provides the atmospheric setting for two days of tarantella folk music and dance.
Carpino Folk Festival One of the most important folk music festivals in Puglia, in the heart of a small village of Carpino, Gargano.
PhEST An International festival of photography and arts which is set in Monopoli: dozens of expositions displayed in several location in the historic centre. From August to November.
Festa del Pescatore The fishing folk of Manfredonia pay homage to their protector, St Andrew, on 1 September. A statue of the saint is borne through the streets and escorted out to sea. Music and fireworks add to the fun.
Disfida di Barletta Costumed performers in Barletta re-enact a legendary duel that saw 13 Italian knights take on 13 French soldiers in 1503. This highlights three days of fun and medieval mayhem.
Red Bull Cliff Diving The world’s top cliff divers provide thrills and gasps of awe as they plunge into the waters of Polignano a Mare from heights of up to 27 m.
Castel dei Mondi Experimental theatre takes to the historic streets of Andria for this annual cultural bonanza. Occasionally, events are staged at the nearby Castel del Monte.
I Dialoghi di Trani Renowned writers and intellectuals take to the stage in Trani for this dialogue-driven event featuring performances, exhibitions, tours and tastings.
Cardoncello on the Road In the last week of October, Minervino Murge pays homage to its juicy autumnal mushrooms, a mainstay of the local diet.
World Press Photo Bari This well-known annual press photography contest is held in Bari by World Press Photo Foundation, an independent, non-profit organization founded in 1955 and based in Amsterdam.
Fucacoste e Cocce Priatorije Lanterns and bonfires are lit in Orsara di Puglia to mark the union between the living and the dead. Locals feast on grilled meat and a special pastry called muscetaglje.
Lights of Christmas The pointy roofs of Alberobello’s UNESCO-listed trulli are bathed in light and Christmas motifs as the festive season gets into full swing.
Presepi viventi Grottoes across the region double for Bethlehem as actors recreate the nativity scene. A popular presepe is staged in Crispiano near Taranto.
Alba dei Popoli See in the new year in Otranto. DJs and bands fuel the festive mood with events held through to Epiphany on 6 January.
Travel to Puglia in winter and you’ll find fires blazing across the region. On 11 January, firestarters in Castellana Grotte light up to a 100 bonfires (fanove) to celebrate the Madonna of Vetrana, the town’s patron saint. Five days later, it’s the turn of Novoli in the Salento. To honour St Anthony the Abbot, a huge 20m-high bonfire or focara, reckoned to be the largest in the Mediterranean, is burned all night, warming the crowds who come to fan its flames. In the Gargano, San Marco in Lamis plays host to one of the region’s great Easter spectacles. On Good Friday a series of vast torches (fracchie) are lit and transported through town to light the path for the Virgin Mary to search for Jesus.
Puglia’s villages, towns and cities take their duties seriously when it comes to celebrating patron saints and important religious events. Festivities are heartfelt affairs, involving church services and solemn processions as well as street decorations and specially-prepared food. High-profile examples include the San Nicola celebrations in Bari and Taranto’s somber Easter processions. For a really illuminating experience, Scorrano puts on a spectacular lightshow to commemorate St Dominica, while events get racy in Ostuni when costumed horse riders take to the streets to celebrate Sant’Oronzo.
Dating from ancient times, the taranta folk dance, known as the pizzica in the Salento, is a staple of Puglia’s festivals. It has its origins in a kind of musical exorcism that was traditionally used to treat victims of spiders’ bites. The spider’s venom was thought to induce a state of hysterical apathy ‒ a condition known as tarantism ‒ for which the only known cure was to dance frenziedly for hours on end, spurred on by musicians playing tambourines at breakneck speed. To try for yourself, join the massed ranks of concert-goers who flock to Melpignano in August for the huge La Notte della Taranta festival.
Wine buffs coming to Puglia in early October can celebrate the grape harvest. A number of regional wine producers open their doors to visitors, offering guided cellar tours and tastings. For more information, check the website of the Movimento Turismo del Vino Puglia(www.mtvpuglia.it), an organisation dedicated to promoting wine tourism in the region.
More than 50 wineries open their cellars at the end of May for the annual Open Cellars event, promoted by the Movimento Turismo del Vino. A second edition is held in late September to mark the autumn grape harvest.
As traditional to an Italian Christmas as panettone and midnight mass are the presepi (nativity scenes) that adorn many homes. In Puglia they take the tradition even further and re-enact the nativity in what’s known as presepi viventi (living nativity scenes). These are staged in grottoes and atmospheric outdoor settings across the region, from Deliceto in the Daunian Mountains to Tricase and Sanarica in the Salento. Other towns renowned for their presepi include Canosa di Puglia, Mottola, Massafra, Crispiano and Pezze di Greco near Fasano.
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