Southern Italy: address book

IDENTITY CARD

Formalities Passport or identity card.
Area code : + 39.
Best season All year round. But be warned, the summer heat can be a killer and prohibit any activity except the beach. And even then! So give preference to the off-seasons, when the weather is generally delightful.
Group size : Although there are a few resorts for large events, Puglia is more suited to smaller corporate groups of 30 to 40 people. This means that the hotels and restaurants are more confidential.

GETTING THERE

Ryanair is the only airline to offer a direct service to Bari from Paris - Paris-Beauvais airport in this case - on a daily basis all year round.
Tel: 0892 562 150 (€0.34/min.)
Internet : www.ryanair.com

HOTELS

MASSERIA ALCHIMIA

At the end of a white road bordered by a row of cypress trees standing at attention, the Masseria Alchimia, a former fortified farmhouse converted into a boutique design hotel, imposes its white volumes in the centre of a perfectly manicured Mediterranean landscape. The rooms are all different, having been taken from different parts of the old farmhouse and reinterpreted by Caroline Groszer, who became involved in the renovation of the old building around ten years ago. The result is a more than successful operation, with a contemporary decor and ten or so rooms, most with private terraces. The highlight is the ground-floor suite in the former stable, which boasts not only a very large terrace but also a private orchard-garden. Nearby: golf, horse riding, cookery classes and, of course, the beach.
Contrada fascianello 50. 72015 Marina di Savelletri, Fasano
Tel.: +39 335 609 46 47
Email : info@masseria-alchimia.it
Internet : www.masseria-alchimia.it

RELAIS IL MIGNANO

The mignano used to be the balcony above the doorway of a private mansion, allowing women to attend street events without being seen by the crowd. In this case, the mignano is so imposing that it gave its name to the boutique hotel that now occupies the walls of this medieval palace. The rooms are in keeping with the style, in other words furnished in the old-fashioned way, but without sacrificing any of the contemporary spirit. All in great comfort, and in very good taste too. Its restaurant, perched on the roof after a flight of murderous steps, is very popular with the locals. Because of the excellent Mediterranean cuisine, of course, but also because of the magnificent view over the city's rooftops. Reserved for exclusive groups, with only six rooms. The Relais Mignano is part of the Châteaux Hotels Collection chain.
Via Lata 29. 73 048 Nardo
Tel.: +39 O833 572 506
Email : info@hmdomus.com
Internet: www.relaisilmignano.com

RELAIS MONASTERO SANTA TERESA

Now that's exotic! Staying in a former convent in the heart of Nardo. Back in the 13th century^e In the 17th century, it was the palace of one of the city's most influential noblemen. Then, in the XVII^eIt became a Carmelite monastery. Today, it's a hotel whose walls are listed as historic monuments. The result is vaulted rooms - you could almost play a game of tennis in the room that once belonged to the baron - sexy contemporary bathrooms, Renaissance frescoes, corridors and terraced roofs. The ground floor is taken up by three gigantic event halls. It's a lot of fun, and very much in keeping with a city where church bells generously occupy the sound space. Just for a moment, unless it's the wind, at the turn of a corridor, you can almost make out the rustle of a dress. The ghost of a nun who was too fickle, perhaps...
10 bedrooms.
Corso Garibaldi, 31. 73048 Nardo.
Phone: +39 0833 572 506
Mail. : info@monasterosantateresa.com
Internet : www.monasterosantateresa.com

BORGO EGNAZIA

It's like being in a village. With all the necessary piazzettes, alleyways, stairways, arcades, colonnades, bell towers and chimneys, villas and detached buildings, a little too new to be mistaken for a real village... As well as the celebrities who come here to hide out, this resort, owned by the Melpignano family, set in the Fasano countryside but close to the sea, can accommodate corporate groups of all sizes. It has a dedicated department for this purpose. 155 rooms and suites and 28 villas from 100 to 250 m2 with private pool. Six restaurants, from the most sophisticated to the trattoria and the fish restaurant, five bars, cafés and lounges, a gigantic outdoor pool, a no less spacious indoor pool, four tennis courts, a spa, an 18-hole golf course nearby, a private beach and water sports.
72010 Savellitri di Fasano.
Phone: +39 080 225 5000
Email : info@borgoegnazia.com
Internet : www.borgoegnazia.com

LA FIERMONTINIA

A large bronze, Les deux sœurs, by Fernand Léger at the entrance to the garden. Another, provocatively, by Jacques Zwobada. And Le Corbusier, and Charlotte Perriand, and Tobia Scarpa... As you'll have gathered, when it comes to works of art, La Fiermontina doesn't do things by halves. In fact, there's nothing half-measured about it. Starting with the garden, a vast space pruned to highlight the sublime trunks of olive trees over a hundred years old, and a swimming pool elegantly set apart. Peace and serenity close to Lecce city centre. Taste, very good taste, is also present throughout the interior. In the clean lines designed by architect Christophe Vialleton, but also in the muted tones, in the objects, books and portraits of members of the owners' family, a grandmother who was a muse to the great Parisian sculptors and a great-uncle, a handsome, dark-haired boxer and actor, as evidenced by the poster for Rocco and His Brothers. The rooms are as elegant and spacious as the place itself. In the kitchen, Simone Solido, 25, is a master of fusion cuisine. The Fiermontina lends its guests bicycles and organises photo tours, wine and olive oil tours, cookery courses, horseback riding, Vespa tours and bicycle rides. 16 rooms and suites, bar, lounge-library, restaurant.
Piazzetta Scipione De Summa n.4. 73 100 Lecce
Phone: +39 0832 302 481
Email : info@lafiermontina.com
Internet : www.lafiermontina.com

OTHER MASSERIE

Masseria Giudice Giorgio
Strada provinciale 359. 73 048 Nardo.
Tel.: + 39 329 784 1518
Email : linfia@hotmail.it
Masseria Brusca
(Loc. Portoselvaggio) Strada Brusca 14. 73 048 NardoTel: +39 0833 57 41 53
Email : ing.giovannizuccaro@tiscali.it

RESTAURANTS

PENTOLE E PROVETTE

Right in the centre of Fasano, it's the ideal place to dine in a contemporary setting. Luca Trabalzini offers a new take on Apulian cuisine. It's delicious, light and highly inventive. Highlights include snapper with black pepper, cod brandade on toast and hazelnut praline mille-feuilles... A pure marvel.
Via Musco, 37. 72015 Fasano.
Tel.: +39 320 382 1365
Email : pentoleeprovette@gmail.com

BELVEDERE DA MARE

Seafood and fish caught early in the morning - we're just a few kilometres from the Adriatic - at this unpretentious restaurant in the charming town of Cisterno. As soon as spring arrives, the tables are set out on the pedestrian walkway. And that's just as well.
Via San Quirico, 41. 72 014 Cisternino.
Tel.: +39 338 883 14 99
Email : mauro.amato@yahoo.it

LA RISACCA

It's very simple, a little guinguette, but above all, it juts out over a white sandy beach. In the background, the sound of the sea. On the tables, fish and seafood.
Contrada Capitolo, 34/B. 70043 Monopoli.
Tel.: +39 333 27 82 597

PESCHERIA 2 MARI

The place is fantastic, set right on the quayside of the little port. It's chic, cosy and expertly run by Vito Sabatelli. On the menu: raw fish served in an incredible number of carpaccios. Use it and abuse it with a generous aperitif.
Piazza Amati, 8. 72 010 Savelletri.
Tel.: +39 080 482 91 61
Email : info@pescheria2mari.it
Internet: www.pescheria2mari.it

LUNA ROSSA

Fish and seafood, of course, as this restaurant, with its discreet bourgeois charm, is located right on the harbour. But also meat, which is excellent by the way.
Via Fiume, 32. 72 010 Savelletri
Tel.: +39 080 433 42 17
Email : info@lunarossasavelletri.it
Internet: www.lunarossasavelletri.it

OSTERIA MONACELLE

All the pleasures of the Pugliese table in this small trattoria set in a vaulted room. It's generous, warm and unpretentious, and it's a great introduction to regional cuisine that has never been reinterpreted.
Via Pietro Vincenti, 4-6. Centro Storico. 72 017 Ostuni
Tel.: +39 0831 334 212
Email : osteriamonacelle@gmail.com

SCHOLA SARMENTI

A famous wine cellar, a very stylish place where you can set up all the white tablecloths and bottles you need to enjoy an atypical evening. Conjoint is a very chic restaurant with a contemporary design, where you can taste the best vintages of Apulian wine on the advice of its owner, Lorenzo Marra. In an evening, you can easily taste a dozen white and red wines, including Nerio Schola Sarmenti, ranked in the top 100 best wines in the world in 2016.
Via G. Cantore 37. 78048 Nardo.
Phone: +39 0833 56 72 47
Email : info@scholasarmenti.it
Internet: www.scholasarmenti.com

RELAIS IL MIGNANO

Of course, there's the restaurant of the boutique hotel of the same name, housed in a former sixteenth-century palace. But above all, there is its roof-top annex overlooking the rooftops of the city.
Via Lata 31. 73 048 Nardo
Phone: + 39 0833 572 506
Email : relaisilmignano@hmdomus.com 
Internet: www.relaisilmigniano.com

WINE AND FOOD TOURS

In the village of Squinzano, cookery lessons are given by local housewives who share their secrets with individuals and groups. In "go between" Ylenia Sambati for the cooking and Michele Pasero as sommelier. The latter also owns a wine bar in Lecce.
Cookery lessons Piazza Plebiscito. 73 018 Squinzano.
Tel.: +39 335 818 7858
Email : info@pugliawineschool.com and info@cookinpuglia.com
Internet : www.pugliawineschool.com and www.cookinpuglia.com
Wine bar La Strada del Vino. Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 16 A. Lecce.
Tel.: + 39 335 818 7858
Email : lastradadelvinopuglia@gmail.com

PRACTICAL GUIDES

Southern Italy (Le Routard), Petit Fûté, Lonely Planet, Guide Evasion Hachette (Puglia and Matera), Geoguide (Southern Italy).