Martina Franca

Martina Franca is the largest of the Itria valley towns, with a whitewashed centre of baroque palaces and churches built in local limestone, entered through the Porta di Santo Stefano and centred on the Basilica di San Martino with its heavily carved facade. The Festival della Valle d'Itria, running since 1975 in the courtyard of the ducal palace, specialises in operas that are rarely staged, including original versions and works recovered from archives, which has given it a serious reputation among specialists. Capocollo di Martina Franca, a cured pork shoulder smoked over oak bark, is the town's food speciality.

What you actually see

• The baroque centre - white limestone palaces and carved church fronts.
• The ducal palace - the festival courtyard and frescoed state rooms.
• The opera festival - rarely performed works staged each summer.
• The capocollo - cured pork shoulder smoked over oak bark.

When to go

April to June and September to October for the town; the festival runs in July and into August, when accommodation books out. Summer heat inland is heavy.

Honest expectations

Festival performances are ticketed and the repertoire is deliberately obscure. Outside the festival the town is quiet. Summer days are very hot.

Nearby

Locorotondo lies north; Taranto is southwest.