Spoilt at Masseria Pistola
The temptation to take a tour to Puglia has been with me for a long time. I have visited several times before with my previous tour guide. But, after Philip and I did a research visit last year, we were certainly going to do a tour in 2025. My Italian chef Alessandro comes from Brindisi and he gave us an insider’s visit. Sadly, the Masserias we looked at didn’t suit.
Above all, I fell in love with Masseria Pistola. Especially since I had read about its Gardens in the ‘Gardens Illustrated magazine’.
https://www.gardensillustrated.com/gardens/international/italian-pistola-urquhart
My love affair had already started. Masses of emails later and here we are, surrounded by the absoluetly gorgeous gardens designed by Urqhart and Hunt from the UK. The farm buildings and house derelict for 35 years have been transformed into bright white washed buildings – once used as a farm house, storage spaces, a church and places for animals. The magnificent spaces now incorporate 10 sumptuous bedrooms - all different, several understated living spaces full of unique antique furniture where we could read or have a quiet time, 4 long tables placed outside to catch the sun or shade, or inside for breakfast. The pool area with its huge double loungers and outside furniture was very popular. It’s where at the end of the day I would find my group with a book and usually an Aperol spritz. Unlike other villas that I have booked in the past, we are totally spoilt with “staff” including the house manager Giuseppe, chef Antonio ,waiter Mariano and the adorable Lucrezia who produces a heavenly breakfast, everyday. Even aperitivo drinks quietly got set up each evening before dinner. No doubt the weather is certainly hot during the day – but the evenings are beautiful and to be in this gloriously relaxing environment is very very special.
Before arriving in this tranquil countryside retreat I chose another 1 night stop at Hotel Chiave on the Trobocci coast..It was a long drive from Montefalco in Umbria and our route firstly took us through the town of Norcia , famous for its pork products . But. more recently the 6.2 Earthquake that reduced the town to rubble in 2016 killing over 250 people. It was a remarkable site . Many piles of rubble are still visible in the town, but the centre is now beautiful, modern and classy and the shop owners were very proud. I bought - salami, prosciutto , cheese and even truffles to enjoy late in the week. Following a beautful valley through the mountains and climbing very high we arrived at the wild flower flields of Castleluccio. I was dissppointed that the colours were not as good as last year. However, it was a great lunch stop and we shared the choice of makeshift restaurants with hundreds of bikers. Arriving at the Coast was a relief after our days drive . White, modern and with interesting décor, everyone had a view of the Adriatic sea. It was incredibly busy with famliy functions for children’s communion and in the evening a 40th Birthday, with a band!!! Actually it wasn’t that noisy and our seafood dinner was terrific.
Trobocchi are wooden structures placed out into the sea to catch fish and there are still numerous on this coast – some now as restaurants but all gorgeous. After an early morning swim in the Adriatic we drove down an autostrada lined with olive trees and then onto a landscape that produced wheat for as far as the eye could see.
Puglia is spoilt for visits to their famous towns like Matera, Ostuni, Brindisi, Lecce, Monopoli and of course Alberobello.
My phenomenal local guide, Michele, effortlessly immersed us in the history, architecture, food and customs. The weather is hot and as we chase shade Michele patiently waits. He is empathetic and can read his group.
The iconic Trulli houses are all around us in the countryside - originally built without mortar and they have had many many uses - they are cool and quite spacious. For many, instead of a pointy roof, they were flat - where hay could be dropped in to be stored. They are now investment pieces, but most are still lived in and treasured. Alberobello is the “town” with thousands of trulli’s built cheek by jowl . People here worked on the land and lived a simple life in large communuites .There ingenious ways of collecting water, dealing with waste and relying on each other is an absorbing history. Michele has many friends here that invite us into their original Trulli.
Any visit to the sassi in Matera is moving -the ancient cave houses where over 60,000 people lived in appalling conditions is now a tourist mecca. Hotels, airbnb’s , restaurants and many shops are established in the original caves.
It was steep and hot, but so compelling. Visiting an orgional cave dwelling certainly was a humbling experience and seeing how people lived here in caves dug out of the rock, one on top of each other, is overwhelming . The bread here is still famous.. Huge loaves often weighing 10kg were baked in communal ovens and could feed a family for a week. The original shaped bread is still sold, but most of us enjoyed the local panzanella type salad called Ciadella with bread, olive oil, tomatoes and sun dried capsicum pieces. Many film companies use this historical site for filming. Mel Gibson’s sequel to the Passion of Christ was in production while we were here.
Our chef has Wednesdays off. It was certainly not an issue for us as we all loved our morning around the pool, a long lunch of prosciutto, cheese and bread that we had collected. In Italian time – mid-afternoon, we had our visit to a local olive oil producer at 4pm - trees over 2000 years old are everywhere in this area. They are gigantic and statuesque with enormous gnarled trunks and it’s staggering to see the massive canopy still producing delicious olive oil. It was a thrill for me to return to the same olive grove that I visited 20 years before.
Everyone knows the famous white town of Ostuni that shines during the day in the Puglian sun but it glistened in the evening light. Michele bought the town alive with stories of life here, over thousands of years. Walking the marble lined streets and visiting the Duomo was perfect before sitting down for our extraordinary seafood dinner at a wonderful restaurant outside on a plateau with a stunning view of the countryside and the white old town of Ostuni.
