Apulia · Taranto
Manduria
The Messapian capital thirty-five kilometers east of Taranto, ringed by three concentric stone walls and the home of Primitivo.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 56 min from Lecce
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 29,933
Known for
PRIMITIVO DI MANDURIA
DOC made from 100% Primitivo grapes, the variety Manduria gives its name to, grown on the surrounding clay-limestone plain.
MESSAPIAN WALLS
Three concentric drystone rings over fifteen hectares, the largest surviving pre-Roman fortification system in Salento.
FONTE PLINIANO
Underground karst lake named in Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia for the water level that never changes.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J14°
- F15°
- M16°
- A19°
- M24°
- J31°
- J35°
- A34°
- S29°
- O24°
- N19°
- D15°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: papa Gregorio I, 4 September
Why come
Manduria sits at seventy-nine meters thirty-five kilometers east of Taranto, on the inland edge of the northern Salento. The town was a Messapian stronghold against Greek Taras; Archidamus III, king of Sparta, was killed under its walls in 338 BC. The Archaeological Park preserves three concentric rings of city walls in drystone, the oldest from the fifth century BC, the middle from the fourth and an outer ring from the third century AD, more than fifteen hectares of fortification still standing.
Inside the perimeter, the Fonte Pliniano is a karst cave eighteen meters across, named after Pliny the Elder, who described its constant water level in the Naturalis Historia. The town gives its name to Primitivo di Manduria DOC, made from 100% Primitivo grapes on the surrounding clay-limestone plain. The Museum of Primitivo and the late-summer Vinitaly cellar tours bring most of the modern visitors. The coast at San Pietro in Bevagna, fifteen kilometers south, holds the commune's Bandiera Blu beach.
The Sunday letter
Manduria is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Manduria comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Manduria in our articles
The best towns you can reach by train that eat well within 90 minutes of Taranto6 towns, Manduria among them.
The best wine towns within two hours of Bari9 towns, Manduria among them.
The 10 best hill towns with a serious restaurant in Puglia10 towns, Manduria among them.
Every town in our catalogue you can reach by train, all of them, by region452 towns, Manduria among them.
How to get there
From Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 2 hours by car.
Lamezia / Reggio (SUF) is about 4h 28m away.
By car from the centre of Lecce 56 minutes, Bari 2 hours or Salerno 4 hours.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Bari?
Coming by train into Taranto? Manduria is about 53 minutes away by road.
What to see
Parco Archeologico delle Mura Messapiche
Fifteen hectares of three concentric Messapian walls from the fifth to third century BC, the largest pre-Roman fortification in Salento.
Fonte Pliniano
Karst cave eighteen meters across, described by Pliny the Elder for its water level that does not rise or fall.
Borgo Antico
Medieval centro storico inside the inner Messapian wall, with the former Jewish quarter and the Palazzo Imperiali.
Museo della Civiltà del Vino Primitivo
Wine museum in the historic cellars of the Produttori Vini cooperative, dedicated to the Primitivo grape and its production.
San Pietro in Bevagna
Coastal frazione fifteen kilometers south, with the commune's Bandiera Blu beach on the Ionian coast.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Manduria fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
CasamattaRistorante
Casamatta holds one Michelin star and two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100).
ES Cantina&RistoranteRistorante
ES Cantina&Ristorante holds two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Gusto Primitivo del Corte Borromeo HotelRistorante
Gusto Primitivo del Corte Borromeo Hotel carries one Gambero Rosso fork (78/100).
Masseria del SaleRistorante
Masseria del Sale has a Gambero Rosso listing to its name.
Living here
- Population 29,933
- Remotei
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Bari / Brindisi, 2 h 6 min drive
- Regional capital Bari, 2 h 0 min drive
Common questions
- What is Manduria known for?
- Manduria is the Messapian capital thirty-five kilometers east of Taranto, ringed by three concentric stone walls and the home of Primitivo.
- Where is Manduria?
- Manduria is a comune in the province of Taranto, in Apulia, at 79 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Manduria?
- Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 2 hours by car.
- Can you get to Manduria without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Lecce to Manduria?
- About 56 minutes by car.
- When is the best time to visit Manduria?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 35 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 10 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Manduria?
- The town keeps its patron saint's day: papa Gregorio I, 4 September.
- Which other towns are like Manduria?
- Nardò, Galatina and Copertino.
- How many people live in Manduria?
- 29,933 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 79 m
- Population: 29,933
- Surface area: 198 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Similar
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🟦 Bandiera Blu
More Bandiera Blu towns in Apulia
Bisceglie
Province: Barletta-Andria-Trani
An Adriatic port town between Trani and Molfetta, named for Roman watchtowers, with five dolmens around it and a Norman cathedral begun in 1073.
Carovigno
Province: Brindisi
An upper Salento hill town between Brindisi and Ostuni, with a marine reserve on its coast.
Castellaneta
Province: Taranto
A cliff-edge Murge town at 235 meters above the Gravina Grande canyon, birthplace of Rudolph Valentino in 1895, with a Bandiera Blu Ionian marina.
Fasano
Province: Brindisi
A Brindisi-province town running from the Adriatic up to the Itria escarpment, holding a Roman coastal city, a wooded highpoint, and Europe's second-largest safari park.
Gallipoli
Province: Lecce
The Ionian beach city on a limestone island, Greek Kallipolis meaning beautiful city, tied to the mainland by a seventeenth-century bridge.