Masseria De Virgilis

Masseria De Virgilis stands on the western edge of Lecce, a couple of minutes by car from the baroque centre yet set in its own walled grounds of palms, olive trees and lawn. The main house is a handsome two-storey palazzo, its terracotta-red façade dressed in pale Lecce stone, with arched windows above a loggia of three arches. It sleeps twelve in six bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, and up to fourteen with additional beds.

The restoration has kept the architecture that makes the old masserie of the Salento so distinctive: barrel and star vaults in honey-coloured stone, deep window reveals, worn chequerboard floors and tall green doors. Into these rooms it has introduced a confident collection of mid-century and contemporary furniture, bold woven rugs and modern art. There are two living rooms, one with a working fireplace, three kitchens, a piano, an intimate cocktail bar and a vast vaulted workroom with a long refectory table that seats the whole party.

Outside, a long pool lined in pale stone runs beside the lawn, framed by palms and a colonnade of stone pillars beneath an open iron pergola, with a covered terrace for long lunches overlooking the countryside. Beneath the house, a second pool sits in a vaulted stone chamber, warm and lit from below, alongside an indoor gym, so the masseria works as well in spring and autumn as it does in high summer.

The house is fully staffed, with daily housekeeping, a concierge and a breakfast chef included, and a private chef can be arranged for lunch and dinner. Brindisi airport is around 35 minutes away, the Adriatic beaches around ten minutes and the Ionian coast twenty, which puts Otranto, Gallipoli and the beach clubs of the Salento within easy reach.

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