Masseria Torricella

What the property says

Masseria Torricella is a working farm with a monastery inside it. Its oldest part, the farm says, was a monastery of Hierosolymitan monks dating to about 1400. They built big round stone basins, called pile, to store water for the dry periods, and the system gave the valley its name, the Canale delle Pile.

Today the farm is entirely built in stone. The restaurant, the rooms, the cellar and the wood-burning oven all overlook a wide yard.

It sits in estimated price band 2 of 5, as no official rate was found.

The rooms and suites

The farmhouse rooms are furnished, the farm says, in real country style, with wrought-iron beds and hand-embroidered linen. You can also stay in a trullo, or in guest houses a few meters from the main building, each with a veranda overlooking the countryside.

For independence there are the Quercia cottages, two apartments with kitchen under a centuries-old oak, a little way from the farm. The Dimore della Via Lattea, four cottages set on a hill, have a double bed, a couch that becomes two single beds, and a shower stall with sauna. A wood pellet boiler and solar panels supply heating and hot water.

Rooms with private facilities for guests unable to walk are listed too.

Where you eat

The dining room was a stable not so long ago, and niches that once held animal fodder now display old work tools. Breakfast brings home-made marmalades and biscuits.

Lunch and dinner are traditional local dishes: orecchiette, broad bean cream, and main courses of lamb, wild boar and rabbit. The wine list includes red Primitivo, Fiano della Valle d’Itria and Locorotondo white.

The farm also lets guests watch the cows being milked and sells its wines, olive oil, cheeses and salami every day.

The setting

The farm says it stands in the southern Murge. Its page on the area describes a valley of karstic origin that has become the green heart of the Regional Park of Barsento. About 40 acres of woodland have been fenced in as a nature reserve, with a trail through pines and oaks, a circuit workout and jogging itineraries with fitness and stretching areas.

The pool has a sandy bottom, an infinity edge that overlooks the valleys, a whirlpool and a solarium with umbrellas and sunbeds. Cocktails, drinks and snacks come at any hour.

The farm’s page on the surroundings names Monopoli as the closest beach and points to Ostuni and Polignano a Mare, the latter high above the sea.

Good to know

• The management asks guests to stay at least three days.
• A transfer service to and from the railway station and the airport is offered to guests without a car.
• Electric car charging is listed, and bicycles can be hired.
• A small meeting room is available, and the restaurant hosts wedding banquets.
• The spa path lasts about an hour.
• Rooms, the trullo, guest houses and cottages differ in layout. Ask which one fits your group.
• The Dimore della Via Lattea cottages have their own access road for vehicles and a trail through the wood to the farm.
• A nature trail, a circuit workout and a small playground are listed among the guest amenities.
• Price band: 2 of 5 (estimated: no official rate found).

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

Walkers who want a wood next door, and anyone who fancies a spa session in a monastery wing, fit here, as do guests who plan three days or more, which is what the farm itself recommends.

A dinner on foot in an old town is the missing piece: Masseria Grofoleo is a short walk from Locorotondo’s historic center. A one-night stop sits badly with a house that asks for three.

Getting there

Masseria Torricella is on the S.P. Canale di Pirro, in Alberobello, in the Valle d’Itria. The farm names Bari and Brindisi airports for air travel and offers a transfer from the railway station and the airport.

By car, it says the car is the most practical choice for the surroundings, though bicycles can be hired and the provincial road is safe and not crowded. Follow the SS379 between Bari and Brindisi, exit at Monopoli toward Alberobello, then turn right toward Putignano. The farm is on the right after a short distance.