In Puglia, the landscape tells you a lot about how people have lived here. Ancient olive trees grow from rust-red earth, dry-stone walls run between fields and traditional masserie sit among groves that have been worked for generations. Further inland, trulli rise in clusters of pale stone, while across the border in Basilicata, Matera’s ancient neighbourhoods are carved directly into the rock. Houses, churches and streets share the same stone as the hillside behind them.

The same landscape shapes what you eat and how you spend your days. Olive oil, vegetables, fruit and wine come from the countryside around you, while old farmsteads have been transformed into striking contemporary places to stay, retaining their character and glimpses of their original use. Walk through olive groves, cycle quiet country roads or head to the coast to swim in the clear waters of the Adriatic or Ionian.

Wellness here feels equally grounded in place. Stay in carefully restored masserie and old stone retreats, with gardens, pools and terraces that open out to ancient olive groves. Relax in contemporary spas that draw on local botanicals and olive oil. Eat tomatoes that still smell of the vine, swim in the sea, sleep within old stone walls and spend as much of the day outside as possible. In this part of Italy, the land has a way of providing exactly what you need.