Trulli homes are undeniably enchanting, and this one is no exception, a garden-forward villa for rent in Italy named for its owner’s resident hawk, Sisco. Homeowner (and avid falconer) Jon Gourlay is also a professional gardener whose showmanship is on display at the trullo, a standout outdoor living destination on a quiet Puglian hilltop. The home’s harmoniously restored interiors are more the domain of Jon’s wife, Laura Lapadula, who summered in the region as a child with her Italian father. Laura’s love of the local area is evident in her update of the lovely country estate, where treasures of yesteryear combine naturally with local stone and the beautifully curated outdoor living areas.

The owners' love of nature and the local environment is on full display at this trullo home, purchased in 2008 in a state of abandon and dotingly brought back to life over the years. The couple collaborated with a local architect and teams of regional tradesmen to restore the original stacked-stone structure and its attached lamia, once a rustic cattle hold, into a genteel, garden-party estate, an ideal destination for rest and relaxation. Surrounded by lush flowers, trim beds, expanses of green turf cut by pebbled and flagstone pathways, plus heritage orchards and groves extending into the valley below the pool, this villa for rent in Italy is a veritable oasis of calm.

Once upon a time, Laura was a nurse at a Scottish hospital where Jon worked as the gardener. The two eventually married and, sharing her ancestral love of Puglia, they discovered their future home during their travels. They knew that by combining their love of nature and love of the sundrenched Italian countryside, they could transform the crumbling agricultural outpost into a showplace. They dove headlong into the trullo and lamia restoration, ultimately relocating to Puglia where they created a serene estate in the fertile Valle d’Itria.

Their stony hilltop residence is situated outside the hamlet of Laureto, a land of rolling hills and Mediterranean vegetation, where fruit orchards and olive groves intersect idyllic agricultural fields and landscaped estate gardens. Best described as modern rustic in style, the home charms with locally sourced antiques and objets d’art decorating its simple, stone-lined rooms. It sleeps six across three private suites. 

A spacious pool terrace sits high on the property, with pebbled pathways and patios stretching out below it, and a fully-equipped alfresco kitchen and dining room located a few steps above it. Separated from the pool by grass and herb-filled stone planters, the elevated outdoor kitchen features a prep island with an electric cooktop and fridge, a classic, woodfired pizza oven, and barbecue grill adjacent to a shaded dining pergola. 

The interior dining and living room space is tidy and bright—a study in bone, beige and whites under a vaulted ceiling, with a wide hearth created from recycled local stone. Bedrooms and baths also feature vaulted or conical ceilings typical of traditional trullo architecture, and simple furnishings are accented by interesting antiques and natural textiles.

Outdoor living spaces set the home apart, with built-in sofa seating flanked by flowering beds, pebbled terraces with views over the estate, and poolside terraces of bleached stone offset by ornamental grasses, sculptural cacti, and the silvery shimmer of olive groves, leafy fig trees, and citrus orchards.

Read a short history of the trullo in our Stories section here.

EXPERIENCES

Extra services include private chef, pizza evening, and in-villa spa services, including massages. Prices available on request.

AROUND

Set elevated in the hills above Fasano, the home features privileged views from its many terraces, pool deck, outdoor kitchen and dining area. The popular hilltop towns of the Valle d’Itria, including whitewashed Locorotondo, the iconic bleached streets of Ostuni, dramatic Cisternino and UNESCO heritage-classified Alberobello, are all quick drives from the property, as are beaches along the crystalline Adriatic coast and the sparkling Ionian shores. Timeless port destinations include Polignano a Mare and Monopoli. The region is famed for its conical trulli homes, the fairytale-like, stacked stone roofed, former agricultural storages that now pop, newly whitewashed and restored, from its many hillsides.

LOCATION

Selva di Fasano, Brindisi, Puglia, Italy. Nearest airport: Brindisi, Bari

BEST TIME TO VISIT: April to October