"Live" Online Tour of Ancient Apulia

The Ancient Apulia Tour -- a travel diary of a journey through Italian megalithic monuments -- will be available online from March 28, following the successful 1998 "Ancient Scotland Tour" project.

Italy is most famous for its Etruscan, Roman and Renaissance monuments and buildings; however, there are lots of more ancient sites - standing stones, dolmens and burial chambers - that have many features in common with similar prehistoric monuments in France and Britain.

Apulia, the "heel" of our boot-shaped country, is the Italian region with the highest concentration of such prehistoric monuments. Unfortunately, each year a number of these sites are being destroyed, mainly because they are almost unknown to tourists and the general public - and in some cases because of ignorance by local people.

In an effort to make people aware of the importance of this issue and to share with the Internet community the beauty of these ancient monuments, Paola Arosio (an Italian journalist) and Diego Meozzi (journalist and photographer) will embark on a two-week tour, visiting all major prehistoric Apulian sites.

An online travel diary, starting from March 28 and updated in real time, will enable visitors to follow the tour, interact with archaeologists and experts, view images and panoramic movies from the journey and learn more about the ancient Apulian people and monuments.

The Ancient Apulia Tour is part of the Stone Pages website, an online guide to European ancient monuments.