History of Villa Apulia

Villa Apulia has a very personal story behind it. When my son moved from Rome to Apulia at age 4, I had to find a place nearby to spend time with him. I knew the Itria Valley well and rented a small trullo for a few days in the spring of 2010. On my way to the Trullo, I saw a handwritten sign on a white stone pillar saying ‘Vendesi’ for sale. A small straight path led to a small square house, a typical structure known as a ‘lamia’. In the past, lamias were used as small country homes where the farmer and his family could spend some time doing work on the land, and the lamia would offer some comfort to cook a meal or rest and even sleep there for a short time.

When I reached the lamia for the first time, I dared go around it, and when I came to the back of the small home, I had an amazing view all over the Itria Valley, and I noticed two groups of so-called ‘Trulli’. The Trullo (dry stone coned-shaped houses) have the same history as the lamia but go way back in time. The look of those trulli and the infinite view took my breath away. I started fantasising about this place. I called the number written on the lamia, a number in Switzerland. A friendly man answered me and told me he could meet me in a few weeks. When we met, I asked about the lamia and the trullo, and his reaction was straight and clear: ‘The trulli are also for sale, but a local real estate agent is dealing with them, and I do not want to be involved with him….’

I made a separate appointment with the agent, and the very difficult negotiation process started. The Trulli complex seemed to be part of six families. After a long period of negotiations, we came to an agreement. Both parties wanted to sell.

With help from my great friend Gilles Therer, a very experienced architect, the project started. In the meantime, I got married, and my wife joined me in the adventure. The lamia was bought in February and was ready to move into in June. It is a small jewel of 16m2 in which we managed to have a kitchen, toilet, shower, sofa, and mezzanine. When my son was with me, we stayed there, the three of us. No heating was available yet, so the winter was cold.

We had decided to use a local rule to amplify our small home, so we built a new home from scratch right next to the lamia. Gilles came over from Belgium several times and finally delivered an amazing revolutionary home: an open space with a vaulted roof and 3 different levels inside since the grounds outside had a difference in levels. All this was done in exactly one year, a small miracle. The home was made with northern European insulation after the cold winter we had passed there. Many people think that Apulia is a warm part of Italy, and this is true in the summer, but in winter, the cold winds from the north, the so-called ‘tramontana’, can be very cold. It can even snow sometimes.

To connect the old part, the lamia, with the new home, Gilled had envisioned a tall veranda where we spend a lot of time with a large table for 8 people. The trulli were left as they were, beautiful ancient structures simply beautiful to look at. The property came with 2 Ha of land with about 100 olive trees. We started to make our own olive oil with very good results. My passion for wine made that in time, we also planted a vineyard, and since 2020, we have been making our own white and red wine.

Since we had to stay in our home every other week from Thursday to Sunday during the school period, we decided to rent the place during the spring and summer months. We realised that a pool is necessary for many people, so we had to take an extra loan to build a pool. It would be a natural pool with salt water instead of chlorine, infinity, and long enough to make a real swim. Since January 2013, we have had our paradise ready; Villa Apulia has become a reality.