A Studio Andrew Trotter Villa above the Coast near Ostuni
Casa Maiora is a four-bedroom house on a rise above Carovigno, on the Puglia coast near Ostuni, with views past olive groves to the sea. Studio Andrew Trotter, the Barcelona-based practice behind it (and one of our favorites), built the house in 2022 as both a private home and a place to rent, and it sleeps up to eight guests in the main house and two garden suites.
The house marked a departure for Trotter, who is better known in Puglia for whitewashed vaulted farmhouses. Here, he drew instead on the colonnades and earth-toned walls of the villas along the coast. You feel it underfoot as much as anywhere: green-and-yellow limestone runs through every room, the walls are local tufo sandstone finished in a natural pink lime wash, and the bathrooms are lined in cocciopesto, with custom terrazzo worked into the counters. Vintage pieces from local dealers sit alongside lighting and furniture from Frama, DCW éditions, Lumina and Bongio, and Studio Paz laid out the terraced garden around the pool.
We recommend eating outside, taking advantage of the wood-fired oven and the long table under the cane veranda, which was inspired by Marrakesh’s covered markets. The pool is a few steps beyond, on a terrace cut into the slope, for before and after dining (or in between courses). Inside the villa, stretch out on the built-in masonry sofa that faces the pool, or gather by the kitchen’s big windows and watch the day unfold.
Layout
Casa Maiora sleeps up to eight guests in four bedrooms with four bathrooms. Two bedrooms are in the main house, and two are freestanding garden suites. Three of the four bedrooms open onto a private walled garden with an outdoor shower.
• Bedroom 1: Double, private walled garden, outdoor shower (main house)
• Bedroom 2: Two twins (main house)
• Bedroom 3: Double, private walled garden, outdoor shower (garden suite)
• Bedroom 4: Double, private walled garden, outdoor shower (garden suite)
• Four bathrooms
Experiences
Offered by host (on request): A private boat for a day on the water, a local pizzaiolo for a pizza night at home, yoga, massage and a driver on call.
Good to know
Check-in is any day of the week, from 3 to 9 p.m., and check-out is by 10 a.m. The minimum stay is seven nights in high season (May to September) and three nights in low season (October to April). Photo shoots are possible by prior arrangement, subject to availability. Private parking is behind the entry wall, out of view of the pool and garden.
Amenities & services
Air conditioning, central heating, alarm system, Wi-Fi, Nespresso machine, fully equipped kitchen, outdoor kitchen, wood-fired pizza oven, barbecue, safe, laundry service, private parking, pool cleaning and maintenance, garden upkeep, midweek cleaning with linen and towel change, final cleaning.
On request: Private boat charter, pizza night with a local pizzaiolo, yoga, massage, driver service.
Around
Carovigno, a hill town built around the triangular Castello Dentice di Frasso (first raised by the Normans), is five minutes away. Ostuni, the whitewashed hill town known across Puglia as the città bianca, is 15 minutes by car, its center a tangle of lime-washed lanes climbing to a Gothic cathedral. The coast is a few minutes’ drive, with the Torre Guaceto nature reserve close by: protected wetlands, dune-backed beaches and centuries-old olive groves along eight kilometers of coastline. Inland, the countryside is given over to olive groves, and the trulli of the Itria Valley make an easy day trip north.
Location
Carovigno, Brindisi, Puglia, Italy. Nearest airport: Brindisi (BDS), a 20-minute drive. Bari (BRI) is about an hour away.
Best time to visit
Late spring and early fall bring warm days without the August crowds. High summer is the liveliest stretch for the pool and the outdoor kitchen, if you don’t mind the heat.
