Informations about the area
Hotel Palazzo d'Erchia is located 30 km from Bari, in the historic heart of Conversano, artistic city of surprising charm, between Murgia and the Adriatic sea, surrounded by olive groves and vineyards, in one of Italy's most beautiful regions, Apulia.
9 km from splendid Polignano a Mare, clinging to 70 meter high cliffs scattered with uniquely enchanting grottos and caverns, 10 km from the Castellana grottos, a magical underground caves with astonishing vastness, crystals and practicality, 25 from Alberobello, the land of the Trulli, and near other countless sites and villages of historic and old world traditions, the Hotel Palazzo d'Erchia is an ideal 3-star hotel between Conversano and Bari, for a vacation full of culture, beaches and traditions.
Just a few steps away from the hotel, in the maze of alleys in the historic heart of Conversano, you can relive the old world and charming atmospheres of when the Counts of Acquaviva d'Aragona, county lords from the 15th to 19th century, governed the city, ancient Cupersanem, embellishing it with authentic works of art. Piazza della Conciliazione, more popularly known in Conversano as Largo della Corte, 5 minutes from the hotel, is crowning evidence: here you can admire the splendid Castle built by the Normans, imposing and austere construction, historic residence of the Counts that now houses an Art gallery with the 10 remarkable scenes taken from the work "Jerusalem Delivered" by Tasso, painted in the 1600's by Finoglio, Neapolitan artist. Nearby, the beautiful Romanesque stone Basilica Cathedral with the typical gabled facade, built between the 11th and 12th century, the stunning and captivating Benedictine Monastery with church and cloisters (seventeenth century and Medieval) and characteristic colored domes, and the megalithic walls, remnants of ancient Norba, the first Conversano settlement.
Don't miss the churches of San Cosma and Carmine (just outside the walls), the Santa Maria dell'Isola on the road to Rutigliano, with its amazing fifteenth century cloisters and, above all, the Marchione castle. Once the hunting lodge of the Acquaviva d’Aragona, the castle (on the provincial road to Putignano) surrounded by luxurious gardens, is a magnificent masterpiece of Apulian architecture.