Manduria is a “città dei messapi”, the land of Primitivo wine in Puglia, vineyards, rustic masserias, olive groves, dry masonry stone fences and beautiful beaches. In this post I will tell you about a small town on the Ionian cost of the «Italian heel» which you might miss searching the spots to visit in Puglia.
If you plan to stay in Puglia for couple of weeks of even a month, Manduria area can be a good spot to dive into a local life, less touristy than Ostuni or Monopoli area, but with several really important advantages. First of all Manduria has 18 kms of coast and has amazing beaches and sea. The second one is that the prices for villas and bed & breakfasts are less than on Adriatic coast.
Where Manduria is located?
A town with the population of 30.000 people is located in the Western part of Puglia region in Taranto province, 10 km away from the Ionian sea. It will take you around 2 hours to get here from Bari and the really scenographic way is to cross Ostuni, Francavilla Fontana and get to Manduria. From Manduria you easily reach Taranto, Lecce, Brindisi city center and Brindisi airport all in 40 minutes. What do you have around Manduria? You’ve got medieval Oria with its good restaurants, Grottaglie which the town of artisans and ceramic, Porto Cesareo and Nardò.
Manduria is an ancient town of the Great Greece
Manduria is also called as a “città dei messapi’ i.e the city of Messapians – ancient italic people who settled the Ionic cost of modern Puglia which was considered to be the territory of Magna Grecia.
The traces of the glorious people appear everywhere starting from the extensive necropolis and the mighty megalithic walls that delimit its ancient center. Consider that the archeological park of Manduria with its 150.000 square meters and walls of the city of Messapians is the biggest one in all Puglia and one of the most significant in all Italy. Outside the mighty megalithic walls, divided into three concentric walls to counter the expansion of Taranto, the incredible necropolis extends, with more than 2,000 messapic burials, dating back to VI-II centuries BC. Meanwhile in the historic part of the town you will find a wall dated V century BC.
The quick story of Manduria is the following: like lots of other messapian city states it became a part of Roman Republic starting from 266 BC, was conquered by Hannibal, it was taken to the Carthaginians by Q. Fabio Massimo (209 BC); as destroyed by the Saracens in 977 and finally resourced at the end of the 11th century with the name of Casalnuovo (or Castelnuovo). But in November 17 1789, Ferdinand I the King of the Two Sicilies gave back the ancient name of Manduria to the city.
What to do in Manduria
- Drink Primitivo di Manduria in the winery Produttori di Manduria and visit the Museum of Primitivo wine.
- Visit the unique Fonte Pliniano (Fountain of Pliny) inside the Archeological park (a guide booking needed).
- Walk around the ancient borgo, visiting Jewish ghetto, Castello Imperiali, Chiesa Santissima Trinità.
- Come back in the historic part in the evening and have a dinner in a cosi local trattoria.
- Visit Salina dei Monaci and maybe see flamingos and the nearest beaches.
- Enjoy the vineyards, olive groves, Mediterranean nature all around Manduria
- Visit a local Masseria for a lunch.
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Manduria – the land of Primitivo wine
Manduria is the motherland of one of the most famous wines in Italy Primitivo, which in the recent years is becoming more and more popular all around the world and takes prizes. Being just 10 km from the sea Manduria can boast hectares of Primitivo di Manduria DOP vineyards.
What is the particularity of this wine? In Manduria you’ll discover a completely different taste of wine due to land close to the sea and the DOP discipline according to which grapes are grown. So the first place you should be directed to is the winery “Produttori di Manduria”, located in Via Fabio Massimo, 74024.
It is a really nice space, typically apulian architecture, where you can visit Museum of Primitivo Wine and directly here make a degustation. I definitely recommend you “Lirica” wine which received “3 glasses” prize from Gambero Rosso in 2019. You will be pleasantly surprised with the excellent value for money.
Another particularity you’ll see in this and other wineries of Puglia is wine on tap. it looks like a gas station, where people come to take liters of some wine. This wine is a good wine with a cost of 1,60-2 euros per liter, it just doesn’t have super particularities. But is is a good wine for an everyday lunch.
Primitivo di Manduria received D.O.P. recognition n 1974 and can be produced in 15 communes in Taranto province. The wine is strictly produced from 100% Primitivo grapes, which is distinguished by dark, almost black grape berry and a high sugar content. The regulation for the production of Primitivo di Manduria wine consists of 8 articles, which indicate the main characteristics so that the wine is called Primitivo DOP. Among them, the presence of at least 85% Primitivo grapes, min. total alcohol strength of 13.00% and 13.50% for Primitivo “Riserva”, the use of special systems to trim and grow the grapes.
My preferences go to:
- Lirica Primitivo di Manduria and AKA rose Primitivo di Manduria in the 10-12€ price range;
- San Marzano “60 anni” Primitivo di Manduria in the 25€ price range;
- “Es” Gianfranco Fino, 55€ price range.
Where to stay in Manduria: hotels and agritusrismo
Manduria can boast couple of good hotels, lot’s of cosy bed & breakfasts, a castle and several masserias around the city.
- If you want to stay in the historic part of Manduria, have a look on a gorgeous b&b “Sine Tempore” with its inside garden like in best Italian traditions. This b&b has couple of terraces on 2 levels, a good breakfast and cosy rooms. The medium price is 50-80 euros per night/ per double room.
Sine Tempore b&b
- Considering that this is the land of wine, have a look on masserias with its own wine production. Among such there is Masseria Li Reni, owned by a prominent Italian journalist and now a winemaker.
- Another one is Masseria Cuturi which can boast a huge territory around including hectares of vineyards, olive trees and a forest. More details about this masseria you can fin in “5 new masserias in Puglia to live in before they become overbooked”.
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The most famous masseria in the area of Manduria is Masseria Potenti which receive lots of prominent guests. Having a dinner in Masseria Potenti this summer we met Elizabeth Gilbert dancing pizzica.
The Castle with 1 Michelin Star Restaurant in Manduria
Outside of Manduria there is a place worthy to be visited – a medieval castle, restored couple of years ago by a family of local winemakers. Therefore, it is called a Wine Resort, Vinilia Wine Resort (but they don’t have vineyards around the castle, they are located outside). The territory is large, the atmosphere is calm, even, I would say, minimalistic.
The hotel consists of the main building – the castle, where on the ground floor there is a restaurant which has just received a Michelin star, and on the second and third floors – the hotel suite rooms. On average, a double room here will cost you 250-300 euros with breakfast per day. There is also a separate part of the new building and there are standard and deluxe rooms located with an average price of 180-200 euros per day. The hotel also has a large pool area and a spa. In general, the castle is a mini oasis in the middle of agricultural lands.
The hotel’s Casamatta restaurant, at the end of 2019 at the Guida Michelin Italia 2020 ceremony, received one Michelin star and became the tenth Michelin-starred restaurant in Puglia. The cuisine is traditional Apulian, strictly based on local products. But absolutely rethought. The main person in the open modern kitchen is Pietro Penna. The Salentinian, who has gained experience outside of Italy, including the Paris Four Season George V hotel, has returned to his homeland and now combines all the traditional in a modern way. See the hotel on Booking: Vinilia Wine Resort.
So Manduria is perfect for a relaxed vacation in between the nature, amazing beaches, wine and good food.
Don’t hesitate to contact us for villas rental in Manduria area via email [email protected] or WhatsApp chat you’ll see on this page.
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