32 AUGUST 2019
PALAZZOMARITATIE^MUCI:MICHELFIGUETThe Goods | TRAVELthis past spring opened Palazzo
Maritati e Muci (maritatiemuci
.com), a 10-room resort where
vibrant art and contemporary
furniture pose a striking
contrast to original plasterwork
and vaulted ceilings.
That Martin had zero
experience running a hotel had
little bearing on his decision
to go all in on a meticulous
restoration. Call it the Puglia
Persuasion—there’s something
about this picturesque region
that compels outsiders to embed
themselves so deeply into its
hilly landscapes that they end up
making it their business. Actress
Helen Mirren caught the bug,
too. Along with her husband,
director Taylor Hackford,
she is co-owner of Farmacia
Balboa (farmaciabalboabar
.com), a chic bar in the town of
Tricase, not far from her home
in Salento. French businessman
Giacomo Fiermonte fell so hard
for the region that he opened
his own hotel, La Fiermontina
(lafiermontina.com), in Lecce
in 2015. Many others have also
gotten into the hospitality act
for the first time after getting
a taste of Puglia’s cone-shaped
stone huts (called trulli),sprawling olive trees and vivid
Adriatic views.
This summer, the movement
is reaching a critical mass, with
a collection of new openings.
Upon inheriting his family’s
19th-century townhouse in
the coastal village of Gagliano
del Capo, Italian art curator
Francesco Petrucci tapped
Milanese architects Ludovica
Serafini and Roberto Palomba
to turn the crumbling pile into
the 10-room Palazzo Daniele
(palazzodaniele.com), where
original frescoes have been
restored and an orangery
and pool have been installed.
Petrucci ensured his familial
estate would be a place for
shared enjoyment: In the
grand kitchen, guests can learn
to make Pugliese specialties
like orecchiette, and the
vine-covered courtyards and
stylish living spaces beckon
many a salute!
For his part, Fiermonte
decided one simply wasn’t
enough, so the nascent hotelier
purchased a second property in
Lecce and turned it into Palazzo
Bozzi Corso (palazzobozzicorso
.com), a fashionable little hotel
where the 10 suites are filled
with sculptures and paintings
from his family collection. And
then there’s Masseria Torre
Maizza (roccofortehotels.com),
a 16th-century estate near the
town of Savelletri di Fasano that
hotelier Sir Rocco Forte has
christened as his own, tapping
his sister, interior designer
Olga Polizzi, to draw up lavish
interiors with hand-painted
ceramics, rustic-patterned
fabrics and contemporary
furniture. Several of the 40
rooms come with private pools
or terraces; there’s also a large
pool in the olive-tree-lined
garden, a nine-hole golf course,
a small spa and two excellent
restaurants.
Back at Palazzo Maritati
e Muci, Guy Martin appears
to have mastered the art
of mixing business and
pleasure by installing his
own swimming pool, along
with a small art gallery and a
garden. Conspicuously missing,
however, is a Martin-helmed
restaurant. “For that,” the chef
says, “you still have to come to
Paris.” Laurie WernerABOVE: Palazzo Maritati
e Muci, in Nardò.
BELOW: The pool, with
olive trees, at Masseria
Torre Maizza.G2G_Aug_GDS_Part1.indd 32 7/3/19 2:11 PM32 AUGUST 2019
PALAZZOMARITATIEMUCI:MICHELFIGUETThe Goods | TRAVELthis past spring opened Palazzo
Maritati e Muci (maritatiemuci
.com), a 10-room resort where
vibrant art and contemporary
furniture pose a striking
contrast to original plasterwork
and vaulted ceilings.
That Martin had zero
experience running a hotel had
little bearing on his decision
to go all in on a meticulous
restoration. Call it the Puglia
Persuasion—there’s something
about this picturesque region
that compels outsiders to embed
themselves so deeply into its
hilly landscapes that they end up
making it their business. Actress
Helen Mirren caught the bug,
too. Along with her husband,
director Taylor Hackford,
she is co-owner of Farmacia
Balboa (farmaciabalboabar
.com), a chic bar in the town of
Tricase, not far from her home
in Salento. French businessman
Giacomo Fiermonte fell so hard
for the region that he opened
his own hotel, La Fiermontina
(lafiermontina.com), in Lecce
in 2015. Many others have also
gotten into the hospitality act
for the first time after getting
a taste of Puglia’s cone-shaped
stone huts (called trulli),sprawling olive trees and vivid
Adriatic views.
This summer, the movement
is reaching a critical mass, with
a collection of new openings.
Upon inheriting his family’s
19th-century townhouse in
the coastal village of Gagliano
del Capo, Italian art curator
Francesco Petrucci tapped
Milanese architects Ludovica
Serafini and Roberto Palomba
to turn the crumbling pile into
the 10-room Palazzo Daniele
(palazzodaniele.com), where
original frescoes have been
restored and an orangery
and pool have been installed.
Petrucci ensured his familial
estate would be a place for
shared enjoyment: In the
grand kitchen, guests can learn
to make Pugliese specialties
like orecchiette, and the
vine-covered courtyards and
stylish living spaces beckon
many a salute!
For his part, Fiermonte
decided one simply wasn’t
enough, so the nascent hotelier
purchased a second property in
Lecce and turned it into Palazzo
Bozzi Corso (palazzobozzicorso
.com), a fashionable little hotel
where the 10 suites are filled
with sculptures and paintings
from his family collection. And
then there’s Masseria Torre
Maizza (roccofortehotels.com),
a 16th-century estate near the
town of Savelletri di Fasano that
hotelier Sir Rocco Forte has
christened as his own, tapping
his sister, interior designer
Olga Polizzi, to draw up lavish
interiors with hand-painted
ceramics, rustic-patterned
fabrics and contemporary
furniture. Several of the 40
rooms come with private pools
or terraces; there’s also a large
pool in the olive-tree-lined
garden, a nine-hole golf course,
a small spa and two excellent
restaurants.
Back at Palazzo Maritati
e Muci, Guy Martin appears
to have mastered the art
of mixing business and
pleasure by installing his
own swimming pool, along
with a small art gallery and a
garden. Conspicuously missing,
however, is a Martin-helmed
restaurant. “For that,” the chef
says, “you still have to come to
Paris.” Laurie WernerABOVE: Palazzo Maritati
e Muci, in Nardò.
BELOW: The pool, with
olive trees, at Masseria
Torre Maizza.