Palazzo Porcini
This fabulous estate near Lecce will leave guests wanting for nothing, except more time to kick back and delight in the joy and ease of a stay in such beauty and splendour
Palazzo Porcini is a knock-out, 37-acre Puglian estate of citrus and olive groves, private parkland and tropical gardens near Lecce. Within its walls lie a fairytale castle that was abandoned almost a century ago in a classic tale of love and loss, a cottage, an 18th century lookout tower and an ancient masseria, all of which have been brought back to life with serious flair.
The exquisite restoration of the four properties has resulted in ten uniquely designed suites where original details, modern technology and high-end art and furnishings combine in fabulous fashion, while the architectural integrity and romance of the buildings is very much still palpable.
There are five suites in the Palazzo, two in the Cottage, which has its own private garden with a Jacuzzi, two in the Torre and two in the Masseria, each one different but equal in the care that has been taken to provide somewhere elevated far above the ordinary.
The Palazzo’s ground floor houses elegant living quarters where guests can socialise or relax, including in the music room where there is a 1902 grand piano. The castle’s four floors can be accessed by the elegant marble stairs or by a fabulous red, glass-lined lift that takes guests from the cosy private cinema on the lower ground floor up to the rooftop terrace with its panoramic views.
Palazzo Porcini has a private restaurant on the premises, only for guests, where the chef who is passionate about using homegrown, locally sourced and seasonal ingredients in classic Pugliese dishes, is catering for every occasion from a romantic picnic for two to a full-blown celebration dinner for everybody, but in any case the restaurant is open all day for their private guests from breakfast to dinner.
There is a 70sqm heated infinity pool for guests in the castle suites, a 12-person Jacuzzi, a 40sqm pool for those in the Torre and Masseria, as well as a flooded solarium with Jacuzzi where even a wet disco is possible!
Tenuta Porcini cossets guests in unparalleled style. And there is no real reason why anyone would want to leave this magical estate until they have to except, perhaps, for a quick trip to nearby Lecce or to the coast.
