We're a Franco-Italian couple and after living in Paris for ten years, we decided to move to Italy with our children, to search for a better quality of life. The Salento peninsula, located in the province of Lecce, the most easterly of all the Italian provinces, surrounded by the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, stands out for its cultural and natural wealth. Since 2011, we have acquired several palaces and historic monuments, including this villa, which we have transformed into holiday homes, creating the Salentum Heritage Collection.
The residence opens onto a picturesque entrance hall leading to an elegant loggia supported by carparo columns and leading to a vaulted space that is open to the outside. Here, among the carved capitals and original decorations, is the frescoed coat of arms of the historic Tafuri family, testimony to the villa's noble past. The ground floor retains its original cocciopesto floor, while the interiors feature barrel and star vaults, typical of Salento architecture. Upstairs, a single room under a terracotta tile roof has been fitted out with a cannicciato ceiling, using traditional period techniques.
The villa originally belonged to the Tafuri barons, a very old noble family from Salento. Built in the 17th century, it was originally the barons’ country house for when they came to oversee the grape harvest and harvesting, particularly of olive trees, whose oil - then used to light European cities - was the region's main source of wealth, exported from the port of Gallipoli to the whole of Europe. During this period known as the Anno Salento, the barons' families also retired to the countryside, away from the coast and the summer heat, to take advantage of the inland coolness. The last owners, the Prete family, heirs by marriage, left it their name.
The villa is just ten minutes from the sea. More than two hectares of grounds are home to olive trees, fragrant Mediterranean vegetation and a private swimming pool. An ancient walnut tree provides shade and coolness, creating the ideal setting for al fresco lunches and dinners. We offer yoga courses and retreats, as well as cultural tours of the region's historic villas, gardens and baroque towns. We organise wine and oil tastings, craft workshops (soap, pottery) and cookery classes. We offer the option of hiring a personal chef to shop and prepare menus to suit all tastes. Finally, our guests can take part in the grape harvest, starting in August, followed by the olive harvest in September.
In Lecce, the "Alex" restaurant offers cuisine that blends tradition and innovation, using local ingredients. "Primo", with its one Michelin star, is a famous gastronomic address. A stop at the "Ascalone" patisserie is an opportunity to discover the famous pasticciotto, a local speciality prepared according to an ancestral recipe dating back over three centuries. The Porto Selvaggio Park and its "Palude del Capitano", where you can hike through 1,000 hectares of Mediterranean maquis, explore caves with traces of occupation dating back to the Palaeolithic era, and swim in crystal-clear waters with heavenly beaches! Birdwatchers will also find much to enjoy here, as there is such a wide variety of birds to be seen in the grounds.
On the ground floor, the villa has a living room with a terrace providing access to the swimming pool, a kitchen and four bedrooms. There is a fifth bedroom with a terrace upstairs. All of the bedrooms have a bathroom next to them. Stays are for a minimum of one week.
ref 569694
This property has been added to My favourites
This property has been deleted from My favourites
A link to enter a new password has been sent to you by email.
back
