TWO UNFORGETTABLE SITES IN PUGLIA

Not to be missed on a visit to Puglia is a 13th century citadel, the magnificent Castel del Monte, about 70kms north of Matera. Strategically perched on a hilltop in the Murgia region at an altitude of 540m that can be seen from many kms away, it seems to dominate the entire Kingdom of Sicily, of which Puglia was a part at that time. Another site, that’s one of the country’s most historically important, is Cannae. Anyone who has ever heard of Hannibal will doubtless know that his Carthaginian forces defeated the Roman army on numerous occasions, and the battle at Cannae in 216 BCE during the Second Punic War, was the most significant of these. It’s regarded as one the bloodiest battles in Roman history—definitely something for those of us with an interest in ancient history.