Masseria Peppeturro

Set in the tranquil countryside a couple of kilometres outside the charming town of Cisternino, Masseria Peppeturro combines authenticity and comfort in the best possible way. It’s still a working farm, and the two original trulli on the property have been renovated into spacious guest accommodation. (We and the friends we were travelling with stayed in these; there are other, non-trulli apartments as well.) Owner Rino – the masseria has been in his family for multiple generations – was a responsive host, recommending places to eat (and making reservations for us when necessary), suggesting hikes/walks, helping us with directions. Most of the Valle d’Itria’s “name towns” are a 30-minute or shorter drive from here. The breakfast was amazing: fresh figs, persimmons, pomegranates and other fruits from their orchard; almonds and walnuts from their trees. Rino’s mamma baked a fresh cake for the breakfast table every day, and made us wonderful scrambled eggs. (The eggs came from the masseria’s hens.) Homemade jams, bruschetta with tomatoes from their garden and drizzled with their own olive oil….. the list goes on. The friendliness and welcome here extended across the language barrier (only Rino spoke English well, and our Italian was limited), his mamma answering my questions about her baking/cooking; his papa showing us the orchard, and cracking fresh walnuts that were drying in the sun for us to taste. We spent 5 nights here – and I wished we’d booked a couple more.