What if Italy's most extraordinary region has been hiding in plain sight the whole time? While millions of travelers crowd the streets of Rome, Florence, and Venice, a different Italy exists in the sun-drenched heel of the country's famous boot. An Italy of whitewashed hilltop towns and ancient olive groves. Of turquoise Adriatic coves and baroque cities so ornate they seem carved from a dream. Of food so fresh and so deeply rooted in the land that a single meal here will permanently change how you understand Italian cooking. That Italy is Puglia. And this is the guide that opens its doors completely. Sun, Stone and Orecchiette: The Puglia Travel Guide to Italy's Most Soulful Region is the most comprehensive and most beautifully written independent guide to Puglia available today. Written in the tradition of Frommer's and Fodor's finest guides, it covers every dimension of the Puglia travel experience across 20 richly detailed chapters and over 113,000 words of authoritative, authentic, and deeply engaging travel writing. Inside this guide you will discover: The extraordinary trulli villages of Alberobello and the Valle d'Itria, including the best trullo accommodation, the finest restaurants, and the hidden countryside roads that most visitors never find Lecce, the Florence of the South, with full coverage of its baroque masterpieces, its legendary pasticciotti breakfast culture, its cartapesta craft tradition, and its extraordinary nightlife Over 800 kilometers of Adriatic and Ionian coastline, including the best beaches, sea caves, boat tours, water sports, and the hidden coves that require a path not a parking lot Bari, Puglia's dynamic and deeply authentic capital, including Bari Vecchia, the Basilica of San Nicola, the orecchiette street ladies, and the finest seafood restaurants in the city The full food and drink culture of the region, from the iconic dishes of cucina povera to masseria dining, the best local markets, the world class Primitivo and Negroamaro wines, and the extraordinary olive oil tradition Complete practical information including transport, accommodation for every budget, money and safety, essential Italian phrases, health and emergency contacts, and travel insurance guidance Three complete ready-to-use itineraries covering 7 days, 10 days, and 14 days designed to give every traveler the perfect Puglia experience at exactly the pace that suits them Day trips to Matera, Naples, the Amalfi Coast, and ferry routes to Greece and Croatia that extend the journey into the wider Mediterranean world This guide is for you if: You are tired of overtouristed Italy and ready for the real thing. You want to eat extraordinarily well without spending a fortune. You want beaches that belong on screensavers but still have space on them in August. You want to stay in a prehistoric stone dwelling with a conical roof and wake up in a landscape that looks like a painting. You want the Italy that Italians themselves quietly keep for themselves. Whether you are planning your first visit or your fifth, traveling solo or with family, chasing coastlines or baroque churches, fresh pasta or ancient history, this guide will be the most valuable companion you carry throughout your entire journey. Puglia is waiting. And it gives everything it has to the traveler who arrives prepared. Order your copy today and begin planning the Italian journey you have always imagined.