Our party of six adults had a most enjoyable stay at Masseria Casalicchio over the first week of October 2016, not least because of the attentions of the caretakers, Donatella and Darren - Donatella offering a spectacular buffet meal, from fresh local produce, on the evening of our arrival, and Darren providing invaluable help during a medical emergency.
The handsome barrel-vaulted farmhouse preserves a basic 16th-century structure in combination with a thoroughly modernised, spacious, and comfortable interior. Being some distance from main roads, set among a landscape of seemingly limitless olives groves (and with its own large swimming pool), the house is totally quiet - sounds of nature apart - and entirely safe for young children.
It had been our intention to visit notable cities and towns such as Brindisi, Lecce, Taranto, and Matera, but found, in the event, that there was an abundance of attractive places closer at hand and suitable for half-day excursions: Conversano, Locorotondo, Martina France, Ostuni, and, on the coast, Bari, Polignano a Mare, and Monopoli.
All in all, Masseria Casalicchio and its locality can be warmly recommended, both for families and for groups of adults.
William Mathew