Old trulli stone villa stunning views, pool, landscaped gardens, 20 min from sea

We spent a week in the Cisternino bungalow with 5 couples, celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. We had a great time, thanks to the unique truly-style villa, the beautiful Puglia countryside, the very nice weather in October and – last but not least – the great restaurants in the area.
The villa is beautifully located in the hills close to Cisternino. Difficult to find when you arrive in the dark though, in spite of the route description Sharon sent us, because the house has no address or postal code to submit in your navigation system.
The villa is very special, traditionally built with 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Be aware of the fact that some of the bedrooms and bathrooms can only be reached via other rooms; the bedroom on the second floor can only be reached from outside and has no toilet facilities. The house is very well equipped and offers a great deal of special features: a huge swimming pool, an outside pizza oven, bicycles, books, DVD's and so on. The welcome was very warm, with a basket of food and wine for the first evening and morning waiting for us. The Italian neighbours are very kind and helpful, but hardly speak anything else than Italian.
Within an hour drive from Cisternino there are plenty of interesting places to visit. In town you can find great restaurants (our favourite was Il Giardino), where you can have excellent meals for low prices. Diner in an osteria (butcher shop with simple restaurant facilities) is a recommendation! High quality meat for very low prices. Go for a great seafood lunch to Monopoli (direction Bari).

We spent 10 days at this amazing villa near Cisternino in June/July. I cannot recommend the experience enough! Thank you so much for allowing us to enjoy your paradise!
The villa was perfect. The description of this paradise couldn’t be more accurate!
On arrival, everything was set for us – including a beautiful welcome basket with wine to boot! The villa was well maintained, clean and the owner / caretaker gave us the white glove treatment!
We were traveling with our two children and mother in law and the villa allowed us to spread out and each have our own space with every comfort we needed. The kitchen was fully stocked with cooking gear and ready for use. We definitely enjoyed the pizza oven outside and the poolside dining each evening. The kids enjoyed the pool daily (and we did too). Plus, there was a full list of restaurants (and reviews) to help guide us to the best places in the area. LOVED THIS!
The setting was so serene and beautiful at every time of the day. The location was perfect as its about 20 minutes from the beach and close to many beautiful spots to play the tourist. We loved seeing all the beautiful small towns on our daily adventures too: Lecce, Cisternino, Ostuni, Brindisi, Monopoli…..such fun! I have already recommended the villa to many people!
Thank you again!

This place is off the beaten track, in a semi-rural setting, close to a resonable-sized provinical town with all the amenities of a 5-star hotel without the staff.

Such was our experience we threatened the owners that they'd need baliffs to evict us!

The house is spacious and in the heat of the day pleasantly cool enough to shelter within when the warm and decent sized swimming pool is not your thing. The rear of the property is almost entirely secluded and the views from the pool as well as the shaded terrace are toward the distant Cisternino.

We made full use of the cooking books to make a pizza in the outside pizza oven, as well as the coffee/cappucino machine. The ameneties, like the showers and the kitchen were fully functional and of a standard you'd expect in your own home. Despite feeling like being the last remaining residents on the planet, help is close at hand from next door and if all else fails the owner is but a phone call away.

Despite the rural feeling of the place, it's but a five minute drive to the main Cisternino supermarket and about another five minutes further onto Cisternino. CIsternino is a reasonably sized provincial town with a market worth visiting on Monday's.

The instructions appear daunting to locate the place from Bari airport, but if you follow them you should be there in about 75mins. They appear more daunting than they really are. A hint, once you arrive in the Cisternino ring-raod, follwoing the signs to the restaurant 'Masserie Cantone' may prove less anxiety-generating than the instructions. That said, when you have left the 'main road' (the supermarket entrance is about 10m ahead on your right, i.e. you turn left off the main road just before the entrance), at the third sign (with a gate that has 'V's on their side pointing left and right,) you need to turn left . There is also a sign saying 'Contrada Fantese' to reiterate.

In closing, if I was looking for a place to do little else other than re-charge myself, read books, soak up the Sun and swim, eat the local food, I can think of no better place; it's simply a delightful piece of local Italy.