Along this stage, the vegetation becomes increasingly diverse; to the vineyards and olive groves are added stretches of woodland and wheat fields. The gradients also vary along the route, which nevertheless remains easy and fairly short, partly because my endpoint is about 3 km before Sant’Eramo — at the “Masseria Galietti”, located within the pinewood of the same name.

The farmhouse is usually open both in the morning and in the afternoon, but since it closes for a couple of hours around lunchtime, when I arrive there’s no one around, so I sit and wait in the picnic area. If you decide to stop here, I recommend buying your lunch in Cassano, or stopping at the Amicizia farmhouse — which you reach about two hours after Cassano — where you can have a sandwich prepared to take away and refill your water bottles.

The farmhouse is managed by the local branch of the Giacche Verdi, a volunteer association halfway between civil protection and environmental stewardship, which offers free accommodation to walkers. The renovated section includes a small bar, an event hall, and a guesthouse equipped with a kitchen, bathrooms with showers, and beds complete with sheets and blankets.

I’m welcomed by Gianni, the president of the association, who offers me a welcome beer, and we chat in the shade of the inner courtyard. He tells me that I’ll be the only overnight guest, but that I won’t be alone before nightfall — I’m lucky, as there’s a lively birthday party scheduled for that very evening.

In the late afternoon, I can’t resist taking a walk into town, about half an hour from the pinewood. I reach the tourist office overlooking the main square, just in time to join a guided tour of the town center, during which Rita from the IAT leads us through local curiosities — among them an old giant oven, a tiny chapel, and some historic palaces.

When the tour ends, it’s aperitivo time, and I can’t skip visiting one of the town’s famous bracerie, “Mimmo e Valeria”: at the butcher’s counter you pick your meats (like bombette, braciole, and gnumredd, small offal rolls), which are then cooked on skewers in the fornello (a wood-fired oven) and served in the dining room upstairs. A snack with excellent value for money.

I return to the farmhouse at dusk, and the birthday girl, Claudia — a 30-year-old from Santeramo — warmly invites me to join her celebration with friends and family, a perfect example of Apulian hospitality.

Special mention goes to the focaccia, panzerotti, and small mozzarella bites from the generous buffet. There’s grilled meat with potatoes too, but I can’t stay awake until the cake; at some point, I put in my earplugs and fall asleep while the DJ’s music keeps the party going on the other side of the courtyard.

That’s not all — early in the morning, Gianni is already up and running at the bar, wishing me a good journey with a coffee and a croissant. What a good morning!