Casa Salento

Rooms description

The upper floor is reached by an external staircase from the courtyard that takes you to the ‘green room’, a spacious landing that connects the three double bedrooms that lead off it. The internal doors have been restored and the walls are all lime plaster in muted shades, with terrazzo floors. The comfy beds are made up with fabulous linens, much of the furniture is original to the house and all the bedrooms are beautifully calm spaces in natural colours with a careful edit of furniture, lighting and textiles.

Bedroom 1
This double has bedheads that are original to the property that have been carefully restored and the room connects to a small living space with a sofa that doubles as a single bed.

Bedroom 2
The largest room is also a double and has its own private terrace overlooking the garden.

Bedroom 3
A beautiful double that overlooks the street and the church.

While the fixtures and fittings are up-to-the-minute modern, the bathrooms are an homage to the simplicity of a past time.

Bathroom 1
The en-suite nods to the tiled bathrooms of the Sixties, with a distinctly old-school feel.

Bathroom 2
A large en-suite that has an iron clawfoot bath with an overhead shower. Linens at the tall window add to the understated elegance.

Bathroom 3
A simple en-suite with a shower.

Wishing to change little of the kitchen that was already here, the architects had the kitchen units lovingly restored, while new ones were made in the same style to hide the fridge and dishwasher, making this simple ‘nonna’s’ kitchen, with an Ilve range cooker, Nespresso machine and handmade ceramics, suitable for 21st century living. Guests can eat in the dining room or at the table outside in the courtyard which is accessed through double doors from the kitchen.

Behind the kitchen is the media room. Previously used by the family living here as a chapel, it dates back over 400 years. Two single beds form the base of the huge sofa, and, with its chocolate brown plaster walls, it is the ideal spot for a quiet chat, a siesta, a film or just to stare in awe at the architecture. This room can also be used to accommodate two further guests as it has a private loo and access to an outdoor shower. (It also gives access to a laundry room.) The living room, with its 5m-high vaulted ceiling, has a pared-back elegance thanks to the lime plaster finish on the walls and the simple sophistication of the sofa and armchair from Jesús Blasco’s studio. The dining room was also once a chapel and, thanks to its careful restoration and decoration, it still retains a monastic feel in a good way, especially when the nearby church bells ring. The lime plaster walls are complemented by the original terrazzo tiles, warmed by a jute rug from Armadillo and Co. The table is from a monastery in Abruzzo. Finally, the garden room with its all-green palette, provides a further calm and cosy place to relax, in this instance overlooking the garden.

There is a laundry room next to the media room.

Leisure & Activities

We would be delighted to help you plan the details of your stay at Casa Salento in advance. The following are available on request: private chef, daily cleaning, driver, bike and boat rental, horse riding, massage therapist, yoga instructor and tourist guide.

Surroundings

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The house is in Soleto, a small, authentic village steeped in culture and history where Griko, a Greek-Italian dialect, is still spoken. There is plenty of local produce available including a well-stocked supermarket just two minutes from the front door and a couple of restaurants, too. Galatina is five minutes away by car with a bigger selection of restaurants and a cathedral worth investigating for the frescoes. Nardò, meanwhile, is only 20km away and its rich history can be explored through its byzantine and baroque architecture that includes palaces, chapels and churches. Lecce, otherwise known as the Florence of the South, is also a must. Cited as one of the most beautiful cities in southern Italy, it is heralded for its baroque splendour and the incredible light as the sun bounces off the white stone. On either coast, take your pick of beautiful places to swim and eat. Spiaggia della due Sorelle (24km) and Baia dei Turchi (32km) are splendid rocky coves on the Adriatic, while Porto Cesareo (37km) and Porto Selvaggio (34km) offer sandy beaches on the Ionian side. Enjoy the hot springs and the Moorish architecture of Santa Cesarea Terme and beautiful local beaches such as Cala dell’Acquaviva.

Galatina (4km); Galatone (14km); Lecce (20km); Nardò (20km); Santa Maria al Bagno (21km); Spiaggia delle due Sorelle (24km); Gallipoli (26km); Otranto (27km); Castro (30km); Baia dei Turchi (32km); Porto Selvaggio (34km); Porto Cesareo (37km); Santa Caterina (41km); Punta Prosciutto (54km); Santa Maria di Leuca (54km); Brindisi (73km); Ostuni (100km); Bari (177km); and Naples (439km).

Your villa and Covid-19

To prevent any possible spread of Covid-19 and to enable you to enjoy a safe and relaxing holiday, all our villas are cleaned to the highest standard possible, and according to the latest Italian health and safety regulations.

Perfect hygiene: to ensure an exceptional level of hygiene in all our villas, we’ve worked with our owners to create a Covid-19 villa management protocol. Based on recommendations from the World Health Organisation, and in compliance with current Italian national law, this protocol goes above and beyond our usual rigorous cleaning standards.

Prior to arrival, your villa will have been fully sanitised, including all surfaces, objects, kitchen items, curtains, sofas, throws, pillows, toys, and in and around the pool. You are welcome to ask for a detailed list of the entire cleaning procedure we do after each departure and before welcoming new guests to the property.

The owner of this house has complied with the following standards:

• To ensure the necessary information concerning social distancing and the use of masks is available to all guests
• To guarantee availability of and accessibility to hand hygiene systems with hydro-alcoholic solutions and soaps in all inside areas of, and pertaining to, the villa
• To guarantee cleaning and disinfection of all areas according to national authority guidelines. Further information is available on request
• For the swimming pool: to guarantee the efficacy of the water treatments, while respecting legal limits (the parameter for free active chlorine in the pool is between 1.0 – 1.5 mg/l; combined chlorine ≤ 0.40 mg/l; pH 6.5 – 7.5 or equivalent oxygen)
• For air conditioning systems: to guarantee the air re-circulation function is switched off and, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, with the plant in off-mode, to clean the air filters of the heating/cooling plants that use heat pumps, fan coils and convectors, at the end of each stay

For more general information about Covid-19 in Italy, please click here.