puglia vacation rentals | Trulli Vacanze In Puglia

1. National Geographic recommends Puglia

2. Where Old Ways Still Rule: Greeks and Goths, Romans and Normans, Byzantines and Venetians: All put their feet, and flags, in the heel of Italy’s boot. There, the region of Puglia stretches a strategic 250 miles along the Adriatic Sea (and 95 miles on the Ionian), making it a key connection between Italy and Europe’s east. Few visit Puglia beyond its most famous seaside towns, fewer still outside of the warm months. And—as proud as they are of their region’s ancient vineyards and medieval castles, cone-roofed trulli dwellings and white-sand beaches—many locals seem surprised by tourists’ attention. “If you go to Tuscany nowadays, you have to know where to go and what to do to have an off-the-beaten-path experience,” says Antonello Losito, a Bari native and the owner of tour company Southern Visions Travel. “

3. Our verdict: Surrounded by 2 acres of its own garden and filled with olive trees and fruit trees including pomegranate, fig, apricot, almond and pear, Villa Santoro provides a wonderfully bucolic setting for the remarkable and vast beach pool, every child’s and not so young person’s delight. Overlooking the pool and leading directly off the kitchen are the external eating and kitchen area with a massive Trani marble dining table, this leading to the sofra or seating area, both with shade provided by large bamboo and vine covered pergolas.

4. Villa Santoro: Villa Santoro sits on a hillside with panoramic views over the olive groves and trulli dotted in the countryside, towards the hilltop towns of Cisternino and Locorotondo. The construction combines the traditional vernacular trullo and masseria styles unique to Puglia, yet the restoration by a Milanese and Austrian architect/designer duo, Bricchi-Marksteiner, provides wonderful interior spaces which are open and airy with a minimal modernist feel while being equipped to provide the last word in luxury.