Sofia de Moser Leitão at Casanguilla

Ceramicist and fashion producer Sofia de Moser Leitão left her native Lisbon for Paris five years ago, and she's wasted no time making a name for herself there. Her playful, joyfully colored ceramics, which she makes in her 10th-arrondissement studio, have been featured on the pages of Vogue France, Glamour Spain and Elle Japan. This summer, she traveled with her mother, aunt and cousin to Casanguilla, a traditional lime-washed villa complex among the olive trees of Puglia, designed by Luca Abbadati of Quarzo Studio. The architect collaborated with his fashion industry spouse Sara to create a solar-powered, thermally efficient country estate that offers a fresh take on local tradition.

We caught up with Sofia after her stay to find out more about her days between the fig trees and Mediterranean shores.

Why did you choose Puglia for this trip?

First of all, I am a huge fan of Italy. I did a 10-day trip to Tuscany five years ago, and I went to Rome and Florence a few times, so I wanted to discover a bit more of this amazing country.

Some friends told me that Puglia had the most amazing beaches, and since we had quite an intense winter in Paris, with a lot of rain, I really wanted to swim in the transparent and warm Mediterranean sea.

I invited my mother, who is a huge fan of Italian food, as I am, so I felt it was the perfect destination. All my expectations were definitely surpassed. We really had the best holidays in Puglia!

Photo: Sofia de Moser Leitão @sofiamoserleitao

When you travel, what do you look for in a stay?

Since I grew up in Lisbon, I was always close to the sea, and this is something I miss a lot in Paris. So, for me the most important thing was to have a house close to the sea. Also, I wanted to avoid very touristic areas.

A perfect summer house for me is surrounded by nature and away from the confusion of the city. In terms of architecture, the most important thing for me is to feel that the house is in harmony with its surrounding nature. And this is something we really felt at Casanguilla.

What impressed me the most was the beautiful light reflecting in the house, and the absolute silence.

Photo: Sofia de Moser Leitão @sofiamoserleitao

What was your first impression of the house?

I arrived at Casanguilla at the end of the day. What impressed me the most was the beautiful light reflecting in the house, and the absolute silence. Every space is quite open, so you can really breathe and feel relaxed. The house is surrounded by fig trees, and this is something very nostalgic for me because it reminds me of my childhood summers in Portugal where I used to pick figs in Arrabida and eat them straight from the tree. Also Casanguilla is really the kind of house where you are always barefoot. I don't know how to explain that!

I absolutely loved all the tableware there. I took pictures to buy the same for myself in Paris (but my apartment is tiny and already full of stuff!).

Photo: Sofia de Moser Leitão @sofiamoserleitao

Did the house make a good base for exploring?

The location of the house was amazing for us because we were close to some of the best recommendations we had been given. We had a car, and if you drive 30 minutes you will find beautiful beaches close by.

There’s so much to do in the region. How did you narrow it down?

Every day, we went to the beach to swim. The sea temperature was at almost 30 degrees, which is insane for me as I'm more used to the Atlantic Ocean in Portugal. At night, we went to different restaurants in the region, one in Ostuni and two others in Lecce. We also wanted to see a bit of the Baroque architecture and ceramics of the region, so we made a visit to Bottega Ceramica di Fasano Antonio. We all came back with a few souvenirs from there.

Photo: Sofia de Moser Leitão @sofiamoserleitao

What were your favorite discoveries?

We went to three different beaches, each of them very different. We fell in love with the first one, Archeolido Egnazia because of the transparency of the sea, and because we really felt it was a locals’ beach, so we went back on the last day. We had a great panini that we bought at the beach café, and we literally spent most of the time swimming.

I am also a huge fan of rocky beaches, so my second favorite beach was Spiaggia di Torre Pozzella near Ostuni. Lido Kale Cora was also a great discovery. The sea was a bit more wavy so we had lots of fun swimming all together.

Alberobello (the city of the trulli houses) was also an amazing discovery! It was so charming and cute, and I could really see myself living in one of these funny pointy little hobbit-like houses.

My favorite restaurant was a place called Bar Moro in Lecce, where we had some Aperol spritz with some local cheeses to start and then some delicious pastas. Also in Lecce, we had one of the best ice creams I have ever had in my life at Baldo Gelato (pistachio and hazelnut)! So yummy, I wish I could eat one right now.

Also, Basilica di Santa Croce was very impressive. We couldn't make it inside, but it's marvelous just from the outside. Really breathtaking.

Did you visit Grottaglie? It’s a famous ceramics town so it must have been of interest!

We made it to Grottaglie, and I fell completely in love. Some of the shops/ateliers were closed so we let ourselves discover the town and we ended up, while meeting some locals there, discovering their own private ateliers. Everyone was super kind, and it was amazing to see so many artists and artisans passionate about their work. There are a lot of traditional ceramics but also a lot of people working with a more contemporary approach.

Photo: Sofia de Moser Leitão @sofiamoserleitao

When you travel, what do you always take with you?

I always bring a camera and my jelly shoes to jump from the rocks. They were quite useful and very practical. I've been wearing them since I was a child. My family was a bit jealous so everyone ended up using these Cinderella shoes that fit on everyone's feet!

And what do you bring home with you?

I am obsessed with miniatures so every time I travel I like to come back home with a miniature souvenir, a really, really small object of some kind. This time the one I got is not as mini as usual, but it’s a very small ceramic piece that I bought in the ceramics shop Bottega Ceramica di Fasano Antonio. I ended up buying some more ceramics (of course) and a limoncello for my next Aperol in Paris!

Photo: Sofia de Moser Leitão @sofiamoserleitao

What inspired you most about the trip?

The nature is really impressive in Puglia, and I have never spent so much time swimming in the sea, surrounded by these charming Italian-speaking voices! Can't wait to go back and to discover more about this region. Three days was quite short so there were a lot of places that I wanted to discover, but we didn't have time to. I wanted to enjoy the house and to have a slower lifestyle there. Which is exactly what we did!

Where to go in Puglia

Stay: Casanguilla

Eat: Bar Moro, Baldo Gelato

Visit: Archeolido Egnazia, Spiaggia di Torre Pozzella, Lido Kale Cora, Basilica di Santa Croce

Shop: Bottega Ceramica di Fasano Antonio