Our columnist, Sebastian Modak, is visiting each destination on our 52 Places to Go in 2019 list. Before Puglia, he was sampling the coastline (and the focaccia di Recco) in Golfo Paradiso.

Puglia, the region of southern Italy i n the heel of the boot-shaped country, has been called “the new Tuscany.” Lecce, a Baroque masterpiece of a city built from cream-colored limestone, is often referred to as “the Florence of the South.” It’s not unusual for tourism boards and the travel press to grasp at analogies that bring to mind more familiar destinations as a way to drive traffic to “undiscovered gems.” But comparing Puglia to anywhere else does it a disservice.

Over six days, while making my way up, down and around the heel of Italy, I encountered a place that was far too complex and far too varied — in terms of culture, cuisine, architecture and history — to fit into a catchy tagline.