Masseria Montelauro

A masseria among olive trees, a step from the sea

Masserie are the fortified farms of the Apulian countryside. Montelauro is on the outskirts of Otranto, on the road towards Uggiano, surrounded by olive and almond trees and close to the beaches of the Otranto coast. According to the house, it was founded around the year 1000: it was a meeting place for monks of the nearby abbeys and then a herbalist's, until in the late 19th century it took a shape similar to today's. In 2001 it was renovated by Elisabetta and her daughters, Caterina and Mercedes, who have run it since. It is part of the Dimore Storiche and received the “La Fabbrica nel Paesaggio” award from the Unesco Club.

It is the rural option in the Salento: countryside, pool and silence, with Otranto's old town a few minutes by car.

The rooms

There are 29 rooms of four types: Classic, Superior, Junior and Suite. None is like another, because the original spaces were respected: whitewashed walls, Lecce stone vaults and floors of chianca, the local stone slab. The beds, canopies, bedside tables and lamps are of wrought iron, handmade by local craftsmen, and the wooden wardrobes and chests come from old houses. Some have a terrace and others a small patio with sofas.

The courtyard, the table and breakfast

The centre of life in the house is the rural courtyard, with open-air lounges, a pool and wisteria pergolas. Massages are offered on request, individual or for couples.

Breakfast is a buffet that changes with the season: warm focaccia, sourdough bread, frise, their own jams, yogurt and fresh cheeses, cured meats, fruit and vegetables from the house's organic garden and eggs from its hens.

The restaurant Fimmine (“women”, in dialect) is also open to non-guests. The menu changes often: vegetables, fruit and oil from the garden, and cereals, cheeses, meat and fish from small nearby producers. Tables are booked on WhatsApp at +39 351 558 1375.

Getting there

It is on provincial road 358, between Otranto and Uggiano la Chiesa. You need a car: to go to Otranto's old town, the cathedral and the coves to the south. Lecce is about 45 minutes away.