Sicily & Puglia

Italy's south moves at its own speed. In Sicily, Noto and Ortigia give you honey coloured baroque and an evening passeggiata that has not changed in a century, while the Aeolian islands offer black sand and volcano views a hydrofoil away. Across the water in Puglia, fortified farmhouses called masserie have become some of the best small hotels in the country, set among thousand year old olive trees a short drive from the Adriatic. Both are less expensive than the north and busier than they were. September is the month.