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Some of the most extraordinary characteristic sights of the Puglia countryside are the masserie. In terms of architecture and in the organisation of work, the masserie were traditionally inscribed as a work place; Roman rustic villas come agricultural trading places.

Masseria Francesca, Crispiano for sale

The masseria often traditionally built above a grotto, was originally constructed with the capability of defending itself; additionally, access to the masserie was often deliberately made difficult, with guards to defend its entrance and routes into the masseria with unsurfaced roads in order to obstruct easy entry.

Masseria San Domenico, Fasano

The original form of the masseria dates back to the XIV century, a period during which the large farms were multiplying fast. The masserie were used as a place of work and production, but were also intended as elegant homes. The masserie were organised around a main courtyard, one side of which was used for habitable purposes by the owner, the other sides and outbuildings served to run the farm with each having its own activity. The central part of the masseria underwent significant transformation during the XVIII and XIX century; with the defense of the buildings no longer having a good reason to exist, there designation was altered with the enlargement of the internal rooms and decoration taking on their own importance with lounges decorated with frescoes, elaborate staircases were incorporated, terraces, statues and fountain features added; completely changing the allure of the masserie.

Masseria Bernardini - Nardò

In Capitanata, masserie are monumental figures of the countryside, exhibiting pillars and towers built in local stone. The masserie of the Murge Plateau expand out in their grandiose splendour, blazing the horizon in their chalk white and colourful façades, wallpapering the south of Bari and the region of Brindisi, becoming the imposing colossal images of Puglia, the austere majesties of the Salento. As with the trulli, their allure from the outside is from a time gone by, far from the modern day styles and codes of architecture of today, buildings lost in the countryside near antique villages and hamlets of the same era, conserving forever their charm of the old constructions with all the memories remaining inside the ancient walls.