Villa Giuliani Resort

Why it’s on the Edit

Villa Giuliani Resort stands on the SS 16 at Orta Nova, the main road of Puglia, between Foggia and Cerignola. The resort says it is easy to reach from both north and south.

The place has a history. The site is the Passo d’Orta, which from the 1500s was where flocks of Abruzzo and Molise shepherds met during the transhumance and paid the toll for using the tratturi, the old drove roads.

It is filed as a roadside agriturismo and event resort. It is a practical stop on a drive through the Foggia plain, not a retreat in the hills.

The rooms

The building has seven rooms on two floors. The resort describes them as modern, with design, art and technology, soft wall colors, vintage-style furniture made to measure and pieces of contemporary art.

Each room is named after an actor or director: Alain Delon, Alberto Sordi, Bernardo Bertolucci, Claudia Cardinale, Monica Vitti, Robert De Niro and Nanni Moretti. They are small: sizes run from 12.5 m² for the De Niro and Moretti singles to 20 m² for the Bertolucci room, which takes three single beds.

Monica Vitti and Alain Delon are doubles of 19 m², and Claudia Cardinale and Alberto Sordi are doubles of 16.5 m². Four rooms have a wooden roof and an outside veranda, and pairs can be linked as a two-room family unit. Every room has satellite TV, air conditioning, Wi-Fi, a minibar, a shower bathroom and a veranda with a table.

Eating and drinking

The restaurant has large windows onto the garden and serves cooking inspired by the recipes of the Italian regions, rethought with creative taste. The à la carte menu changes with the seasons. It opens for lunch, including quick brunches, and for dinner, and there is a well-stocked wine cellar.

The pizzeria bakes a large choice of pizzas in a wood-fired oven, on a menu tied to Puglian cooking. The resort sells organic and biodynamic products under the Villa Giuliani name.

For receptions, the resort speaks of chefs inspired by local gastronomic tradition, and of a park whose trees are lit in the evening.

The setting

The setting is a green property on a main road, with outdoor spaces and gardens. The resort lists a conference center that can join several rooms by video link or split a group into working subgroups, for congresses, conventions, trade shows and training.

The beauty center offers treatments by booking only.

For outings, the resort lists Cerignola, the Gargano, San Giovanni Rotondo, the Foresta Umbra, the sanctuary of the Incoronata, the archaeological site of Herdonia at Ordona, the thermal baths and salt works of Margherita di Savoia, the Lago Salso and the Frattarolo reserve. It also offers excursions to religious sites of the province of Foggia.

Its activities page describes the sanctuary of the Incoronata, in a wood that was once a hunting reserve of Frederick II, rebuilt between 1954 and 1965 by the architect Luigi Vagnetti with shapes drawn from the hut and the trullo. It also describes Monte Sant’Angelo, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the convent of San Matteo near San Marco in Lamis, with a library of more than 60,000 volumes.

Good to know

• The beauty center works by booking only.
• Events and conferences are a core business, so ask what is on during your stay.
• A pool, parking details, pets, children’s policies and opening months are not confirmed here.
• Price band: 1 of 5 (estimated: no official rate found).

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

It suits drivers who want a stop between Foggia and Cerignola, small groups and work parties who can use the conference center, and families celebrating at the receptions.

Look elsewhere for a hill setting, and ask first if a pool or a spa with water facilities matters. For a farm in the hills, see Masseria Salecchia, and for a city hotel with a spa in Foggia, Hotel Up. The Foggia and the Monti Dauni hub lists the rest.

Getting there

Villa Giuliani Resort is on the SS 16 at Orta Nova, in the Foggia and the Monti Dauni area. Bari is the nearer international airport.

A car is needed. The resort sits right on the state road, so it is easy to find from either direction.