Tucked among the stunning embrace of 2,400 olive trees and sprawling across a 20-hectare estate, is the luxurious private retreat, Villa Torre Bianca.

Originally built as a summer abode in the 19th century, the historic villa in Triggianello is just a 15-minute drive from the enchanting town of Polignano a Mare and less than five miles (8 km) from the Adriatic Sea. Villa Torre Bianca stands as a testament to timeless elegance and luxury and beckons discerning travelers to indulge in a private villa vacation within the Apulian countryside.

Villa Torre Bianca comprises 11 (soon to be 12) rooms and suites, accommodating up to 28 guests. Each of the rooms and suites affords views of the private gardens. From its signature tower, which houses the Torre Bianca Suite, guests can enjoy views of the village of Triggianello and the surrounding towns of Polignano a Mare, Conversano, Castellana Grotte and Monopoli.

Polignano a Mare, a town perched atop limestone cliffs along the coast of southern Italy, captivates visitors with its beauty and rich history. Its narrow streets wind through ancient whitewashed buildings, leading to breathtaking views of the Adriatic Sea’s turquoise waters and pristine beaches. Steeped in tradition and culture, this charming town also offers delectable seafood cuisine, local markets, and a warm, welcoming community that captures the essence of Mediterranean life.

The estate offers many luxurious amenities and accommodations, including an alluring outdoor swimming pool paired with inviting loungers for tranquil moments of relaxation. For guests craving wellness during their stay, Villa Torre Bianca houses a gym and a sauna. An onsite coffee bar ensures guests can receive the pick-me-up they need before a day of adventure. The restaurant serves traditional Apulian cuisine featuring regional ingredients. Other amenities include an indoor TV lounge room, daily housekeeping, daily continental breakfast and onsite guest services.

For groups or parties interested in enhancing their stay, the villa offers a selection of luxury services, such as a private experience at Lido Sabbiadoro, which is Monopoli’s most exclusive beach club, or immersive activities including cooking classes, private tours, cellar tastings, offsite excursions and more. Premier services such as private transfers, room service, babysitting, celebration planning and private dining, spa services, and fitness classes are also available upon request. 

Thinking of getting married? Villa Torre Bianca offers outdoor wedding facilities on site and can accommodate up to 250 guests.

Villa Torre Bianca is open year-round.

The addition of Villa Torre Bianca to Emily Hotels’ portfolio in 2023, marks a unique venture for the company. The villa is the first acquisition in Europe, and Emily Hotels has plans for continued expansion throughout Italy over the next few years. The Emily Hotel is an art-inspired boutique concept by the Onni Group. Villa Torre Bianca also has a unique tie to its ownership group’s beginning; the late founder of Onni Group. Innocenzo De Cotiis was a native Italian, spending the majority of his childhood there until his family immigrated to Canada.

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Patria Palace, a former 18th-century palace-turned-hotel in Lecce has reopened following a four-year renovation project. Originally designed by Mauro Manieri, a Lecce-based 18th-century architect, the hotel is open from March to December, and is a near year-round destination. Born as a noble residence of the Petrarolo D’Anna family, Patria eighteenth-century palace rises majestic and elegant in the heart of Lecce.  Over the centuries the palace has experienced all different souls of hospitality. It evolved into a loving home for orphans, before being transformed into the city’s first Locanda (inn) for travelers in 1850. It reopened as a luxury hotel in 1980.

Situated in a small Piazzetta overlooking the Basilica of Santa Croce, the hotel has a rooftop bar, a gourmet restaurant that showcases Salento’s cuisine, an outdoor lounge bar, and 58 rooms and suites with views over the city. Guests can expect authentic coffered ceilings in carved wood, stained glass windows and antique marble floors. The rooms and suites express the different nuances of beauty of the Palace. Other original features that have been retained and restored include frescoes, vaulted ceilings and carved balconies. Each room has artisanal ceramics, locally sourced fabrics, and luxury amenities and comforts.

This year, guests can expect the launch of the Patria Palace Wellness area, which will incorporate two spa suites, a Turkish bath, sauna, two private pools as well as indoor and outdoor relaxation areas, all carved out of the property’s original stone walls.

Situated on the Salento Peninsula, Lecce, the “Florence of the South,” has existed for over 2,000 years, and offers a blend of different eras, histories and cultures. Guests of Patria Palace are only a few steps away from the city’s popular attractions, including the Basilica of Santa Croce and the Jewish Museum. The property can organize guided tours, in addition to a Lecce Food Tour, led by a sommelier, and food and wine expert. As the city is only a short drive to Salento’s Adriatic coast, Patria Palace also provides a Beach Club private shuttle service, available every day between June and September.

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This year, Rocco Forte Hotels is celebrating its 25th anniversary by offering immersive experiences inspired by the cities their properties call home. The group is offering a “European Grand Tour” so guests can interact with local artisanal talent while enjoying the best that each city has to offer. We, of course, concentrate with our Tour d’Italy on the Italian Rocco Forte Hotels only.

Check out the fantastic options which offers a great way to stay not only in some of Italy’s best hotels but also venture out from Florence to Rome and further south to Puglia and Sicily. Make it the dream vacation, maybe with a road trip in a typical Italian convertible. Be adventurous…

Guests can book individual hotel experiences or opt to enjoy multi-destinations. You can select up to five Rocco Forte Hotels and enhance the itinerary with one or more of the curated experiences. Included are

• Complimentary airport transfers return
• 15% off a two night stay in a Presidential Suite at any of our European properties
• Special VIP 25th anniversary amenities
• Rocco Forte Suite Experience benefits
• Bespoke curated Experiences
• Choose from a selection of unique, bespoke experiences in each destination
• Select up to five destinations, five unique experiences

Let’s “drive” from top to bottom and explore the “boot”.

Hotel Savoy, Florence

Slow down a gear and be enchanted by the sights and scents of the rolling Tuscan countryside and experience the ultimate vintage road trip. Leave the Uffizi and the city behind, take the strada regionale 222 and drink in breathtaking views of the famous vineyards of Chianti. Take on the undulating roads, detouring to explore hidden hilltop villages. For those who would rather not drive on Italian roads – although, I really would like to encourage you to live this experience, especially in the Tuscan countryside – can opt for a guided tour.

Located on one of the largest squares in Florence, Hotel Savoy seduces with its enviable views of the Duomo and Giotto’s Bell Tower – climb to the top for the best panoramas. The city itself is a Unesco World Heritage site and is, quite simply, a must-see. Leave time to explore Uffizi Gallery, displaying Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus”, and Michelangelo’s “David” as well as the reveling in the city’s ravishing Renaissance architecture.

Hotel de Russie, Rome

This special experience will take you to the cobbled streets of the bohemian Trastevere district.  Here, in the hidden treasures of an elegantly eccentric eighteenth-century townhouse you’ll meet the housekeeper waiting to share the wonders of his collection with you. 

Admire his ancient treasured items that span both the globe and the centuries. Examine Egyptian funerary headgear, dating back to 330 BC, a 17th century Tibetan drum and the traditional shield of the Dayak head-cutters of Borneo.

Staying at Hotel de Russie, close to the Spanish Steps, you’ll discover its own secret – a hidden garden at its heart. Originally designed by architect Giuseppe Valadier, the garden’s fragrant orange trees and tiered terraces have been revamped by former Valentino interiors designer Tommaso Ziffer.

Walk down the Spanish Steps and venture out on the various shopping streets, among them, straight ahead, famous Via Condotti with abundant designer shops.

Hotel de la Ville, Rome

Experience the City of Sin’s dark side.

When staying at Hotel de la Ville in Rome, you can embark on a two-hour guided tour through the dark streets of Rome’s heretics, traitors and ghosts. As you cross Sant’Angelo bridge you’ll learn about Mastro Titta, official executioner for the Papal States. Travel back to the taverns where Caravaggio brawled in the streets and and relive the political plots of the quite possibly murderous Cesare Borgia and his sister, Lucrezia Borgia, a noblewoman with a notorious reputation.

The extravagant interiors of Hotel de la Ville – by designer Tommaso Ziffer and Olga Polizzi – were inspired by the Grand Tour era. Stay at the sumptuous 18th-century palazzo and you’ll have access to the whole of Rome, laid out before you, from the top of the Spanish Steps.

 Masseria Torre Maizza, Puglia

Puglia is always connected to a culinary experience. Nothing different here, at Masseria Torre Maizza.

Masseria Torre Maizza has curated a journey through Puglia on a plate. At the Grandmother’s Table, you will enjoy a Sunday lunch with Apulian dishes like grandma used to make. A traditional Sunday lunch is a feast and a chance to be immersed in local culinary traditions. Hosted by local mothers and grandmothers, the meal is a chance to spend the day together. A communal table will be set among monumental olive trees and seasonal flowers and you will leave as part of the family.

Food is an important part of the rhythm of life at Masseria Torre Maizza, a five-star conversion of a 16th- century farmhouse. At the main restaurant, Il Carosello, local chef Nicola Lenoci infuses the menu with Puglian flavors while precious memories are made at the private dining table in our walled garden. Once your appetite for gastronomy has been fully satisfied, you can enjoy the hotel’s 9-hole golf course, private beach club and the Irene Forte Spa, housed in an old olive mill.

I have lived in Puglia a long time ago, and visited several times since. The hospitality and warmth of Apulian people has stayed in my heart. The food, even though sometimes very simple, is really fantastic, fresh and tasty. It’s a place that you should not leave out of your “bucket list”.

Verdura Resort, Sicily

At Verdura Resort in Sicily, you can golf your heart out.

Tee yourself up for the ultimate golfing afternoon and you’ll be welcomed with a personalized gift bag on arrival, filled with golf equipment including a dozen professional standard golf balls and a Verdura golf shirt.

Set on 230 hectares and with close to two kilometers of private Mediterranean coastline, near Agrigent, you have the choice of two seaside championship golf courses designed by Kyle Phillips at Verdura. Once set up with the right equipment, it’s time to improve your swing. Get to grips with the right technique at a 30-minute lesson with our PGA coach on the driving range. Relax after your training session with a three-course lunch in the clubhouse.

Heading for a hole-in-one, you’ll finish your golfing experience by testing your skills on our championship 18-hole golf course, playing four holes with our pro.

Because of the scarcity of water resources in Sicily, and the quantities required to maintain the resort’s golf courses, a water-recycling system has been installed. A further measure introduced to save water has been the conversion of the lawn around the golf course into decorative rock gardens.

Villa Igiea, Sicily

Villa Igiea has curated an artistic guide to the city of Palermo, through the lens of the aristocratic Florio family.

The influential family built Villa Igiea and transformed the private estate into a luxury hotel at the start of the 20th century. The Florios were both wealthy and well known. You will discover the history of Palermo through the Florio family on a city-wide tour which takes in the Norman, Rococo and Art Nouveau architecture of Sicily’s capital. 

You will be welcomed for a private tour of the stunning 300-year-old Palazzo Gangi – often compared to Versaille’s Hall of Mirrors – by the princess of the palace. Time travel through the centuries as you circumnavigate the Sicilian old quarter, the Norman sector and baroque palaces on an all-encompassing city tour.

On your private tour you’ll get to know architect, Ernesto Basile, who was commissioned by the Florio family to design both Villa Igiea and Teatro Massimo, the largest opera house in Italy. Finishing up your epic architectural adventure, you will be greeted with dinner in the hotel’s Louis XVI hall, named in honor of the Florio family.

Choose your five destinations and take the Tour d’Italy or, head to your favorite hotel. You can book directly at Rocco Forte Hotels.

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Lucio Dalla’s buen retiro opens to travelers. Villa Luna Matana and Le Rondini Residence open their doors to visitors, thanks to an agreement with G Rent. The company is active in the hospitality sector of luxury properties. These Tremiti Islands retreats will allow fans of the Italian singer-songwriter, and those who want to stay at the two places, an emotional journey into the history of music. At “Villa Luna Matana”, in fact, there are still musical instruments (a piano and a keyboard) that Lucio Dalla used for the writing of his music, drawing inspiration for the eponymous 2001 album “Luna Matana”.

Villa Luna Matana

Travelers, selected by G Rent, will be able to immerse themselves in the atmosphere that inspired one of the most important representatives of the musical universe in Italy and abroad. Admire the landscape and get immersed in the green of the Island of San Domino. The Bolognese artist loved to spend long periods of vacation, rest but also work and get creative. The villa has a sea view, is spread over four levels and is located in the bay of Cala Matano. It houses an engraving room, with the possibility for tenants to visit it by appointment and accompanied by authorized personnel. Here, Lucio Dalla composed songs that have become pieces of Italian music history.

Le Rondini Residence

Moving to the nearby island of San Nicola, you can rent the Le Rondini apartment. This is another place where you can breathe the scent of the history of Italian music, in the center of the island near the Church of San Nicola, in a more intimate setting.

The Tremiti Islands, also called “the pearls of the Adriatic”, are the only Italian archipelago in the Adriatic Sea. They are located about 12 miles off the Gargano National Park, on the northern end of Apulia. On San Nicola Island you can visit the 11th-century Santa Maria a Mare abbey, with mosaic flooring. You will also find a waterfront fortress, the Castello dei Badiali. Pine-covered San Domino Island features beaches and cliffs, including the Ripa dei Falconi, a breeding ground for rare falcons.

For years, the islands were Lucio Dalla’s favorite retreat. The crystal clear waters, the transparency of the sea, the starry sky and the romantic coves: it is from these places that the singer-songwriter drew inspiration for his music.

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The castle will have four en-suite guest bedrooms with two dedicated private salons, two dining rooms (formal and informal), a bar/piano room, two lounges, cinema and business suite. The castle’s roof terrace “guarantees” impressive sunsets.

The neighboring groundskeeper’s cottage offers two additional guest bedrooms, a private garden with sunken jacuzzi, outdoor shower and barbecue. Amenities include a 753-square-foot swimming pool, a 12-person jacuzzi and an ornamental pond. The on-site café will provide breakfast, lunch, aperitivi and dinner, serving authentic “Cucina Povera Salentina” cuisine, made with locally sourced seasonal produce alongside ingredients grown on the property’s private land.

The 37-acre estate has large citrus and olive groves and a private park filled with pathways. The garden will offer a quaint setting for celebrations, be it picnics or wedding parties. Castle Elvira was originally built in the late 1800s but was abandoned soon after. The property had been left decaying for almost a century until owner Steve Riseley acquired the property in 2018 and set out to restore the castle and its grounds.

The Legend of Castle Elvira suggests that it was built by two adoring parents from Naples for their daughter Elvira’s 17th birthday. Elvira was enchanted by a local castle in Naples, owned by Italian actor and playwright, Eduardo Scarpetta. When Elvira passed away, her parents fled, leaving the castle behind them—and it has remained unoccupied ever since.

Riseley has worked closely with architects and a team of specialist artisans to carefully restore the castle. The design remains authentic, maintaining many of the castle’s original features while introducing new elements that respect Castle Elvira’s fairytale past. Good to know: Although the castle is now equipped with the latest tech, these have been hidden behind carefully restored ceramic tile floors and retouched walls. A hand-picked mix of antique and modern designer furnishings and custom-made lighting create a luxurious environment for guests. The property will feature curated artworks, including a selection of new pieces by Riseley’s artist husband Harvey B-Brown’s Adored and Adorned collection.

Also opening in spring 2022, Castle Elvira’s sister residence Tower Elvira will allow guests to increase occupancy to up to 20 guests. Tower Elvira offers the same castle luxury in four suites, with private gardens or rooftop, and a 430-square-foot heated pool, set amongst olive and citrus groves.

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Vacation Villa

The Trulli, Puglia is a unique property, made up of 11 Trulli. The cluster of little white stone ‘tents’ is a magical sight as you approach. Once inside, the vibe is traditional with a contemporary twist – whitewashed walls and splashes of bright Mediterranean color bring the shared living spaces to life, while neutral bedrooms and spa-style bathrooms provide comfort and relaxation.

The villa’s outside space has been carefully designed to create a real ‘alfresco home’. Two stone courtyards have been designed to become an outdoor living area… a garden kitchen under the gazebo comes complete with its own dishwasher and oven so you can enjoy cooking under the stars of an evening. And the cobalt-blue tiled pool is a wonderful space in which to float away the day.

Surrounded by herb gardens, in turn encircled by olive groves and fruit trees, with vineyards beyond as far as the eye can see, The Trulli offers real seclusion and, above all, a sense of peace that’s hard to find at home. Listen to the cicadas, inhale the heady scent of rosemary, lavender and fruit trees and breathe a little deeper in your own Italian Trulli.

Rooms

Bring your family or maybe come with a group of friends. The Trulli sleeps eight people in four bedrooms. Bedroom one, two and three are double rooms with queen-size beds; bedroom four is a double room with two single beds. The property has three full bathrooms.

Amenities

The Pool is surrounded by a spacious relaxation area. The outdoor area includes a Gazebo with a garden kitchen, coffee maker and dishwasher, a lounge and a Barbecue area. The bar and wine cellar offers space for some of the best wines available from the area.

The sitting area features a Flatscreen TV with satellite, there is an outdoor stereo system, and WiFi is available in all areas.

Of course, there is a laundry room and private parking.

The villa has a well-appointed kitchen which food lovers will enjoy spending time in, experimenting with local ingredients. A daily continental breakfast is included as well as a welcome basket with local wines, kitchen staples, fresh bread, fruits, vegetables and cheese. For those who would like it, a private chef is available on request for an additional charge.

Location

This luxury villa is situated just south of the town of Ostuni and 10 miles from the Adriatic coast. The closest town is San Michele Salentino, just three minutes drive away. The nearest airport is Brindisi, around 20 minutes drive away, or Bari, which is 1.5 hours drive away.

Since you are already there, don’t miss to visit Ostuni, also called the White Town. This picturesque town, sitting on top of a mountain, is a renowned tourist destination. It boasts a wonderful medieval village, rich with alleys and whitewashed houses, in a maze of streets which recalls an Arab Kasbah. Take a stroll in the old town center, called “la terra” (the land) to distinguish it from the more recent “marina”: it offers lovely spots amid the alleys, sloping stairs, courtyards and small squares, where whitewashed houses appear, embellished with geraniums, craft shops, typical restaurants and small shops.

With its still expanses of olive trees as far as the eye can see, the Itria Valley is red soil, green groves and vineyards, and white trullo houses under a serene blue sky. Also known as the Valley of the Trulli, it makes up part of the Provinces of Bari, Brindisi and Taranto, and comprises the Comuni of Alberobello, Carovigno, Castellana Grotte, Ceglie Messapica, Cisternino, Fasano, Locorotondo, Martina Franca, Noci, Ostuni, Putignano, San Michele Salentino, San Vito dei Normanni and Villa Castelli.

In the Itria Valley’s heart is the obligatory stop of Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (named in 1996), where it is impossible not to be charmed by the lanes of the Monti and Aja Piccola neighborhoods. 

Be sure to visit the Grotte di Castellana, open year-round; led through the wonders of these caves by expert guides, you won’t be sorry you took on this fascinating excursion.

For reservation of The Trulli, Puglia (or any other of their amazing properties) visit The Firefly Collection
www.firefly-collection.com

_{Photo Ostuni: Carlo Elmiro Bevilacqua/Regione Puglia}

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