Savelletri di Fasano · Puglia
Villa Sansonetti
An apartment above the Adriatic
The Property
Where the olive grove meets the sea
Set among the monumental olive trees of the Piana degli Ulivi, a short walk from the fishing harbour of Savelletri, Villa Sansonetti looks out across an open stretch of the Adriatic. Of all the masserie along this coast, very few face the water so directly.
The apartment occupies part of the old masseria, restored with a light hand and left cool and quiet beneath its vaulted ceilings. Mornings begin with the sea taking the light. Evenings end at the long table on the terrace, the sun going down behind the olives.
The Apartment
Beneath the vaults of the old masseria
Under the star-vaulted ceilings of the original building, the rooms have been restored in a quiet palette of limestone, lime-washed plaster and brass. Floors are laid in local stone; the walls hold the cool through the Puglian summer. The kitchen is fully equipped, the bathroom finished in stone and aged brass, and every window opens onto olive trees or the sea.
- Two bedrooms, sleeps five
- Original vaulted ceilings
- Private sea-view terrace
- Fully equipped kitchen
- Stone & brass bathroom
- Private courtyard parking
- Air conditioning
- Wi-Fi
The Terrace
Dinner, as the sun goes down
Under a beamed roof open on three sides, the private terrace is where the day settles. The table is laid for long lunches and later dinners, and beyond the low wall the Adriatic runs out to the horizon. In the evening the light turns the whole coast gold, and there is very little left to do but watch it.
The Olive Grove
Trees that were old before Rome
The property stands within a grove of monumental olive trees — part of the Piana degli Ulivi, the greatest concentration of ancient olives anywhere in the Mediterranean. Some have stood a thousand years; the oldest in this region are reckoned at close to three thousand, already growing when the Messapians walled Egnazia, a few kilometres up the coast.
The landscape is protected by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture as one of the country's Historic Rural Landscapes, and is a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage.
The Courtyard
Room to arrive
Guests have the run of a very large private courtyard, paved in local stone and shaded by olive and citrus. Parking is simply not a consideration here — no small thing on this coast, where a car in town can leave you circling for a space long after you have arrived.
The Sea
Water you can see the bottom of
The coast runs fifteen kilometres, low limestone rock giving way to fine sand and back again. The stretch nearest the house is rock, cut with quiet coves where the water is so clear you can pick out the bottom. For sand, the long beaches and protected dunes of Torre Canne lie a little down the coast.
The Beaches
Down to the water, by e-bike
The whole coast is close enough to reach on an e-bike — a gentle ride through the olive groves and you are at the sea. Two kinds of day, then: the wild, free coves where you slip straight off the rock, or the lidos and beach clubs, with a lounger, an umbrella and a cold drink brought to your sunbed.
Free beaches & coves
Spiagge libere — no gate, no fee. Ladders set into the low limestone drop you straight into the sea.
Lidos & beach clubs
For a day with everything laid on — sunbeds, showers, a restaurant and a bar by the water — the beach clubs are a short ride along the same coast.
The Area
Puglia, within easy reach
The apartment sits between the Valle d'Itria and the sea — the white hill towns inland, the Adriatic below, and three thousand years of history in between.
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A short walk
Savelletri
A working fishing village: the harbour, the morning catch, and seafood eaten at the water's edge.
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5 minutes on foot
Coccaro Beach Club
Fine sand in a private bay, with sushi and oysters on teak decks.
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Minutes away
Egnazia
Messapian walls, a Roman forum, and the Via Traiana — whose paving still carries the ruts of cart wheels.
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Minutes away
San Domenico Golf
Eighteen holes laid out between the olive groves and the sea, in sight of the ruins of Egnazia.
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20 minutes
Monopoli
A walled port town, and the coves of Capitolo just south of it.
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30 minutes
Ostuni
The White City, stacked on its hill above the olive plain.
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30 minutes
Alberobello
The trulli — conical stone roofs by the thousand. UNESCO World Heritage.
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30 minutes
Polignano a Mare
A town built on a cliff, with a beach in a ravine beneath it.
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30 minutes
Locorotondo & Cisternino
The white towns of the Itria Valley, and the vineyards between them.
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1 hour 10
Lecce
The baroque south — carved limestone on every façade.
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1 hour 30
Matera
The Sassi, cut into the rock, and lived in for nine thousand years.
Getting here
- Brindisi Airport (BDS) 50 km · about 45 minutes
- Bari Airport (BRI) 70 km · about an hour
- Fasano railway station 5 km · on the Bari–Lecce line
- By car SS16 Bari–Brindisi, exit Savelletri / Stazione di Fasano
Enquire
Come and stay
The apartment is let directly by the family. Tell us when you would like to come and how many of you there will be, and we will reply with availability and rates.
Rates on request