Borgo San Marcoin Fasano

What the property says

Borgo San Marco grew out of a settlement of Byzantine monks in the 12th century. By the 15th century it was a stronghold of the Knights of Malta, and in the 18th century the Amati family acquired the farmhouse. They turned it into a farm stay with a pool in 2002, and they still run it.

The site stands on a 65-hectare estate of centuries-old olive groves. The 23 rooms were carved out of the original buildings, and the grounds take in patios, an iconic church facade, external stairs to a rooftop with panoramic views, a citrus grove and a quarry.

Behind the main buildings is a cave church where frescoes, hidden for years under plaster, were found.

The rooms

The 23 rooms come in four groups. The Suites are two-room units with queen or king beds and a patio or terrace over the pool, sleeping up to 4. The Suite Deluxe goes up to 70 m², sits in the main tower or on the ground floor, and has a jacuzzi or a private terrace or garden.

The Junior Suite Dependances sit in renovated buildings a short way from the main farmhouse, each with a patio, private terrace, outdoor shower and coffee machine. The Double Rooms have stone arches.

All rooms have air conditioning, heating, a safe, a mini fridge, a hairdryer and a flat-screen TV. The hotel says all 19 of its suites were modernized in March 2024.

Food and drink

The restaurant, La Despina, is named for a wealthy heiress who lived in Fasano and its surroundings and commissioned the frescoes in the cave sites. The menu covers traditional Apulian meat and fish dishes, seasoned with the estate’s olive oil, and many products are the hotel’s own or local.

Lunch is served outdoors under a large pergola or in the indoor dining room. Dinner is in the 150 m² restaurant, the dining room or the 500 m² courtyard.

Breakfast is a buffet of handmade biscuits, cakes and tarts, with seasonal fruit, homemade jams, eggs, cheeses and cold meats. The restaurant page dates olive growing and oil production to five centuries ago.

The setting

The estate lies between the Adriatic and the Itria Valley, and the hotel says its terraces look onto both. The valley side is dotted with trulli (conical dry-stone huts), vineyards and white towns such as Locorotondo, Cisternino and Martina Franca.

Inside the grounds there is a large in-ground pool with a dry-stone backdrop. The spa, Borgo Aquae, has a massage room, an indoor pool with jacuzzi and a lounge in an old lemon grove. The gym is open-air, in the orange grove, with a rack with J-hooks, pull-up bars, kettlebells, rings and a rowing machine.

Mountain bikes are available for routes through the estate, and the hotel promotes cycle touring between Bari and Brindisi through the Itria Valley. The Adriatic is close by in the hotel’s telling, but this is a countryside stay first.

Good to know

• The gym is entirely outdoors, so it depends on the weather.
• The Junior Suite Dependances are separate from the main farmhouse.
• The cave church and frescoes are on the property.
• Worth asking the property: children, pets and opening months.
• Price band: 2 of 5 (estimated: no official rate found).

Who it is for, and who should look elsewhere

It suits couples and wedding parties who want a fortified masseria with 65 hectares of olive groves around it, at estimated price band 2 of 5. It also suits cyclists, who have mountain bikes on site and the Itria Valley beyond.

Look elsewhere if you want a beach club or a resort program close to the room. Masseria Torre Coccaro lists two beach clubs, golf and an Aveda spa. If you would rather be in the fishing village of Savelletri, Bianco Riccio Suite Hotel sits in its center.

Getting there

Borgo San Marco is in Fasano, in the Fasano and Savelletri area, between the Adriatic and the Itria Valley.

A car is the sensible choice. The estate is in open countryside, the beaches and towns are separate drives, and the dependances are a walk from the main buildings. Ask the hotel about arrival and parking when you book.