lucera
 
 
 
Just 18km west, within easy reach of Fóggia (hourly buses), LUCERA is a far better introduction to Puglia. A small town with a bright and bustling centre, it was once the capital of the Tavoliere, and it has a distinct charm, its vast castle dominating the landscape for miles around. It was once a thriving Saracen city: Frederick II, having forced the Arabs out of Sicily, resettled 20,000 of them here, on the site of an abandoned Roman town, allowing them complete freedom of religious worship - an almost unheard of act of liberalism for the early thirteenth century.

Buses arrive in Piazza del Popolo, from where it's only a short walk up Via Gramsci to the Duomo , which marks the centre of the medieval walled town. The cathedral - a dark, rather miserable building - was built in the early fourteenth century after Frederick II's death when the Angevins arrived and a conflict with the Saracens began. The Angevins won, and built the cathedral on the site of a mosque; by the end of their rule, few of the town's original Arab-influenced buildings were left. However, the Arabic layout of Lucera survived and there's a powerful atmosphere here - best appreciated by wandering the narrow streets of the old town, peering into the courtyards and alleyways. Close to the cathedral, a little way down Via de' Nicastri, is the Museo Cívico (Tues-Sat 9am-1pm & 4-7pm, Sun 9am-1pm; L1500/¬0.77), well stocked with Greek pottery and their Puglian copies. There are some fine mosaics and terracotta heads too, and the bust of a Greek youth said - rather optimistically - to be that of Alexander the Great. Also worth seeking out in town is the fourteenth-century church of San Francesco with a beautiful rose window and the moth-eaten clothes of 'Padre Maestro' or Francesco Antonio Pasani, a local saint-in-the-making, on display.

The other sights are all outside the old centre, most notably the Castello (Tues-Sun: summer 8am-8pm; winter 9am-1pm; free), built by Frederick and designed to house a lavish court which included an exotic collection of wild beasts. To get there from Piazza Duomo follow Via Bovio and Via Federico II to Piazza Matteotti and look for the signs. The largest in southern Italy after Lagopésole in Basilicata , the castle commands spectacular views over the Tavoliere, stretching across to the foothills of the Apennines to the west and the mountains of Gargano to the east. Contained within the kilometre-long walls are the evocative remains of Frederick's great palace, fragments of mosaic work and fallen columns peering out of a dense undergrowth of wild flowers. The Roman amphitheatre is on the western edge of town and often holds concerts in summer.

Stopping over in Lucera wouldn't be a bad thing, although the functional La Balconata at Viale Ferrovia 15 (tel 0881.546.725; L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98) and Al Passetto at Piazza del Popolo 24 (tel 0881.520.998; L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98) are the only hotels in town (the latter has a fine restaurant closed Mon). There's a good farm B&B 5km outside Lucera, Masseria Mezzana Grande on the road to Bíccari (tel 0881.529.915; L120,000-150,000/¬61.98-77.47), with large rooms, modern bathrooms and a private kitchen and sitting room for guests. Bear in mind that the B&B comes second to the farm's main business of growing grain, olives and almonds and book a couple of days ahead. As for places to eat : La Tavernetta Via Schiavone 7-9, behind the cathedral (closed Wed), is an excellent place for crispy pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven, pasta dishes and local wine, while the new Hostaria Lupus Via Gramsci 10 (closed Tues in winter and July) in the old town offers a limited menu at moderate prices.