Italy Unpacked: From the Stones to the Stars

Andrew Graham-Dixon and Giorgio Locatelli explore the culture and cuisine of Italy, travelling from the tip of the heel up Italy's dramatic east coast. Their journey starts in the instep of Italy and the region of Basilicata. Its most famous town is the spectacular Matera, also known as Sassi (or 'stones') after its caves inhabited since Palaeolithic times, which are a Unesco world heritage site. There, Giorgio cooks a peasant recipe of mutton pignata in a restored cave. Next is the south-eastern tip of the Italian peninsula, and Puglia - a generous, rich land with year-long sunny weather surrounded by azure sea. Staying off the tourist track they visit the baroque gem that is the town of Lecce, before moving on to the trulli of Alberobello and a unique Greek vase in the little town of Ruvo. They discover that southern Italy is no stereotypical sleepy backwater, but a place where the younger generation are going back to their roots and rediscovering traditions.