Casa Caroseno

A Family Retreat Remade to Respect the Slow-Living, Farm-to-Table Lifestyle

With softly plastered walls interrupted by windowed doors, filtered light flowing through its arched porticos and gently swaying draperies, this 1950s-era rural family home has been given new life, a redesign created expressly for slowing down.

The 95-square-meter casa’s simple beauty has been loved for generations by the same family, who still occupy a home on its cherry-orchard-dotted fields. The muted, minimalist country house was restored to capture the region’s quiet essence, its monochromatic structure mimicking Puglia’s muretti a secco earth. Décor is spare, in the soft soil tones of the surrounding garden across its king-sized bedroom, open-air double bed niche off the kitchen, and warm living room with its sculptural modern fireplace. There are two bathrooms, an ample kitchen, and a generous outdoor veranda that gives way to the swimming pool and al fresco entertaining area, with its kitchen and private terrace.

Around

Located in the fertile Apulian countryside, this multi-generational family guesthouse is easily accessible to the villages of Castellana Grotte, Conversano, and Putignano, all offering historic sites and charmed streets, plus a wealth of medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture. The owners' family restaurant, Osteria Caroseno, is a seven-minute drive away, offering lunch and dinner by reservation. The Apulian coast makes for a great day trip, too, particularly the port city of Monopoli and the harbor of Polignano a Mare (30 minutes). Enjoy long walks in the countryside and visit Castello Marchione, a FAI heritage site.

Castellana Grotte’s claim to fame is its karst cave system, deep grottoes with a three-kilometer walkway reaching 70 meters underground, full of abysses, stalagmites and stalactites, dripstones and fossils (nine minutes). Nighttime tours of the caves are especially enchanting. Conversano village (15 minute drive) is best known for its monumental castle, a limestone fortress dating from Norman times that was transformed into a noble residence by the Acquaviva di Aragona family. Don't miss the gelato at Caffe del Incontro. And Putignano is primed for wanderers and slow tourists who love to lose themselves in its labyrinthine streets lined with Baroque splendor.

Location

Conversano, Bari, Puglia, Italy. Nearest airport: Bari, 40 minutes

Best time to visit

March to November