Palazzo Danielein Gagliano del Capo

What the property says

Palazzo Daniele was built in 1861, the year of Italy’s unification, by the local architect Domenico Malinconico. It was a family home for four generations. The last of the family, Francesco Petrucci, turned it into a place for artists, and he founded Capo d’Arte, a non-profit contemporary art exhibition that involves the whole community of Gagliano del Capo.

In September 2018 he handed the keys to his friend Gabriele Salini, and the palazzo welcomed its first guests in April 2019. It calls itself an artist guesthouse, and the artworks are specific: a Luigi Presicce lamp, Nicolas Party stools, a Roberto Cuoghi sculpture and a Carla Accardi lithograph.

The designers Roberto Palomba and Ludovica Serafini stripped the rooms back to the frescoes and mosaic floors. The ceilings keep their cracks, which the palazzo says mark the passage of time.

The rooms and suites

There are eight types of room. The Executive is 20 m², with courtyard views. The Junior Suite has a king bed and a walk-in shower, and most of the suites have an original frescoed ceiling.

The Royal Junior Suite has a 6-meter-high rain shower falling into a basin by the Italian artist Andrea Sala. The Royal Suite pairs vaulted ceilings with a freestanding tub under original frescoes. The Suite looks over the town square. The Master Suite has a living room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

La Torretta is a duplex with a red marble staircase and the only suite with direct access to the courtyard and gardens. The Black Suite is an 85 m² penthouse with a full kitchen and a private terrace of 1,500 m².

The site gives different totals for the suites in different places. Ask how many are available for your dates.

Eating and drinking

The kitchen’s motto is “This house is not a hotel”. Four women, each with deep generational roots in Salento, do the cooking. The palazzo says they are local cooks and not an industry chef, and that farmers bring natural ingredients to the hotel daily.

Beyond meals in the house, the palazzo offers a candlelit dinner in a private garden setting by the orangery, and a cooking class that ends with you eating what you made. A private natural wine tasting explains how wines are made without chemicals. By the pool, a bar serves cocktails.

Whether the kitchen serves every night, and to non-guests, is not confirmed here: ask when you book.

The setting

Gagliano del Capo sits at the tip of Italy’s heel, and the location page describes ancient courtyard houses set around the historical square. The palazzo describes its location as quiet and not touristy. Parking is free: the hotel advises leaving the car on the streets marked with blue.

Inside, the public spaces are a living room with a fireplace, a spa and a pool, and a sprawling courtyard garden of orange trees where aperitifs come with music. The suites look out on the courtyard, the pool or the town square.

The palazzo lists biking and trekking in the countryside, kitesurfing and windsurfing with courses for all levels, rock climbing, and horse riding on local beaches. It also offers a private sunset boat cruise and an artisans workshop on ceramics and weaving.

Good to know

• The whole palazzo can be reserved from November 1 to March 15, which puts it in the exclusive use collection.
• The rooms page calls the suites right for couples, families or groups.
• The full-house page describes a black-bottom pool, a steam bath and a sauna.
• Capo d’Arte is an annual international contemporary art event in the town.
• The Executive is 20 m² and the Black Suite 85 m².
• A booking of the whole house asks for the purpose, such as a wedding or a birthday.
• Lecce is the nearest railway station.
• The palazzo opens to guests from April to October, according to its careers page, and the whole house is let from November 1 to March 15. Pets and the spa’s hours are not confirmed here, so ask before you book.
• Price band: 4 of 5 (estimated: no official rate found).

Is it right for you?

Couples and art-minded travelers who want old frescoes next to contemporary art are the obvious fit. Friends or family wanting a whole house should read the November to March window first. The rooms page also names families among the guests the suites suit, so a group with older children can ask about the Master Suite or La Torretta. The honeymoon guide covers how to plan around a stay like this.

A beach week, a large pool or a hotel with a long list of facilities will fit better elsewhere. Tenuta Montirò has 38 rooms and a restaurant that serves dinner every day.

Getting there

Palazzo Daniele is on Corso Umberto I in Gagliano del Capo, in the Santa Maria di Leuca and the Cape area, at the southern end of Salento. Brindisi is the nearer airport and Bari is much farther north; the hotel can advise on the drive down to the Cape.

Lecce is the nearest railway station. If you drive in, park on the blue-marked streets, where parking is free. The hotel says it will help you find a space. Tell the palazzo your flight and your expected arrival time when you book.