Amazing Farmhouse Retreat: Masseria Salinola, Ostuni, Italy
I read that staying at a farmhouse, or Masseria as they’re known here, is something to do in Puglia. A lot of Masseria that I checked up appeared to be closed during our dates in early January": I guess after the busy Christmas holidays, they take a break of a month or more, before tourists comeback. But one Masseria with great reviews was still open for booking: Masseria Salinola, just outside of Ostuni.
I do think we were the last customers of the season though, on our last evening we were the only ones in the dining room!
The Buildings
We arrived in the evening, after a morning spent in Matera and a visit to Locorotondo along the way. The Masseria gives out their location in GPS coordinates, because I guess the regular address doesn’t really work well in map systems.
This picture was taken the second night here; on the first night, we found the host Daniele starting up a fire in the courtyard as we walked in.
Here it is in the daytime. The guest rooms are in this building.
Lots of cacti here!
Cacti and grapes hanging on the vine.
The Common Areas
Daniele led us to the building with the common areas, where the reception was. He checked us in, and we just had time to put our things in our room, before returning for dinner. Every day, they prepare a sheet like this, with the activities of the day, and also the menu for dinner. One could really just spend the whole day here relaxing.
The dining room is just past the reception area.
I loved all of the decorations. So much character!
In the afternoons, they serve tea and pastries here too.
They had a couple fire places.
It was so cozy to relax here, especially since it was cold and on the second day, rainy!
I think this was Daniele’s father maybe? He tended the fire.
There was another living room off of the reception area. I guess one could watch movies here.
It was just after Epiphany, but Christmas decorations were still up, which I loved. Here, they were the traditional decorations, unlike the rustic, minimalist ones at Sextantio in Matera.
They even had their own nativity scene.
The Room
Our room was in the building with most of the guest rooms, on the ground floor.
We had our own little entry patio.
Our key still had a Christmas decoration!
The first room was the sitting area.
This is where my bed was set up.
Then through the door was the other room. I like the niches and ledges - perfect for putting phones on at night.
The other room had an armchair, and desk.
This is where my parents’ room was.
This is also where the Nespresso machine was, plus a paid minibar.
The bathroom was modern and very functional. The shampoo and soap were from their line of toiletries made from olive oil, which they sold.
The Grounds
Behind the building with the common areas was the farm area.
Here is where they must grow the vegetables they use in their cooking! Here’s a row of parsley and one of cabbage.
Here’s the very important cime di rapa, or turnip greens, which they use a lot in Puglia.
Also used a lot is chicory (cicoria).
Here’s a row of broccoli.
They also have their own hens, which lay the eggs that we eat at breakfast in the mornings.
Adjacent to the building with the guest rooms was the Masseria’s own chapel.
The grounds of the Masseria were actually smaller than I expected. When I thought of farmhouse, I was picturing acres and acres of farm and trees. But Masseria Salinola is just outside of Ostuni, so it could be considered suburban, rather than rural.
Just looking at the pictures of Masseria Salinola again makes me feel rested and peaceful. It really was a little world to retreat into, with a comfortable room, beautiful common areas, all with little touches that brought such character to the place. We also had all five of our meals in Ostuni at the Masseria; I’ll cover the meals and the cooking class we took, in separate posts.
We stayed here two nights, but I wish we could have stayed longer!
