# Otranto from Bari: the mosaic cathedral, lunch at a farm stay in Frassanito and a night at a masseria among olive trees By car from Bari to Italy's easternmost town: the Tree of Life mosaic, handmade pasta at a farm stay by the sea and a pool at a masseria. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/apulia/salento/itineraries/otranto-day-from-bari-cathedral-mosaic-masseria · Revisado: 2026-11-12 ## El día - 07:45 · Salida: 2 h 30 by car (Car from Bari or hired at its airport, which has direct flights from Spain) - 10:30 · Otranto cathedral and its 12th-century mosaic: the Tree of Life and the Chapel of the Martyrs (Open from 8:30 to 12:00; park outside the old town) - 15 min by car, 11,3 km - 13:00 · Il Contadino (Open every day; book the 12:30 to 13:30 slot) · Il Contadino, €€ - 15 min by car, 14,1 km - 16:00 · Masseria Montelauro (Pool in the courtyard and dinner at its Fimmine restaurant) · Masseria Montelauro - 22:00 · Vuelta (Night at the masseria; the next day, back to Bari or on to Lecce) Otranto is Italy's easternmost town, on the Adriatic coast of Salento, and its cathedral holds a 12th-century mosaic that covers the whole floor. From Bari it is about two and a half hours by car: enough to see the cathedral in the morning, eat at a farm stay by the sea and spend the afternoon at the pool of a masseria among olive trees, where you sleep. The next day, you continue along the coast or go back. ## Getting there from Spain By plane and car. There are direct flights to Bari from Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Valencia. Pick up the hire car at the airport and head south along the dual carriageway towards Brindisi and Lecce: it is about 200 km to Otranto. If you land late, sleep in Bari and set out early. ## The day, hour by hour 7:45 · Leave Bari. About 197 km and two hours forty minutes to Otranto. 10:30 · Otranto Cathedral. Park outside the old town and walk up. The cathedral, consecrated in 1088, has on its floor the mosaic that a workshop led by the monk Pantaleone made between 1163 and 1165: a great Tree of Life runs along the nave, with biblical episodes, bestiary animals and an Alexander the Great carried by griffins. At the far end of the right aisle, the chapel of the Martyrs of 1480; beneath the presbytery, the crypt of more than seventy columns. Open from 8:30 to 12:00. Afterwards, walk round the wall and the castle. 13:00 · Lunch at Il Contadino. About ten minutes north, in Frassanito, 700 metres from the sea. It has been a farm of the Merico family since 1987: pasta handmade every morning from their own wheat, grill, wood-fired pizza and fish they choose at the port of Otranto. Order the house antipasto, some orecchiette with turnip tops and whatever is in the fish display. Open every day; book a sitting. 16:00 · Masseria Montelauro. Head back south, to the outskirts of Otranto. Leave your bags in one of its 29 rooms with vaults and wrought iron and go down to the courtyard pool. Dine right there, in the Fimmine restaurant, with vegetables from the house garden. The next day. Continue south along the coast to Santa Maria di Leuca and its boat to the caves, or go up to Lecce, about 45 minutes away, before returning to Bari. ## With children The cathedral can be seen in half an hour; the chapel of the Martyrs, with the bones on view, is impressive: warn them beforehand. The farm stay has a garden and the masseria, a pool. ## Cómo llegar ### By car It is the way for this plan: about 197 km from Bari, with a hire car if you arrive by plane. ### By plane Direct flight to Bari from Madrid, Barcelona, Seville or Valencia, and a car from the airport. ### Without a car Train from Bari to Lecce and from Lecce to Otranto with Ferrovie del Sud Est; but for the farm stay and the masseria you need a car or taxi. ## Consejos ### Arrive before 12:00 The cathedral closes at midday and does not reopen until 15:30. ### Book the lunch sitting Il Contadino gives tables by sittings, from 12:30 to 13:30. ### Do not drive into the old town Park by the harbour or at the entrance to the village. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How long does it take from Bari to Otranto? About two hours forty minutes by car, 197 km. ### When is Otranto Cathedral open? From 8:30 to 12:00 and from 15:30 to 18:30. ### Where do you eat near Otranto on a Sunday? Il Contadino, in Frassanito, is open every day at lunchtime and in the evening. ### Can it be done in a day, without sleeping over? Yes, but it is more than five hours of driving in total: better to stay one night.