Salento Dwellings

Words by Luciana di Virgilio

Lower Salento, the so-called “heel of Italy,” is a verdant plain south of Lecce overlooking two seas, the Adriatic and the Ionian. The area is strongly characterized by its territory and its color palette: the greens of the Mediterranean scrub and olive groves, the red earth, the warm shades of limestone, the dazzling white of the walls painted in lime, the intense blue of the sea, and the light of the south that envelops everything.

In recent years, Salento has been discovered by an international public that understands its uniqueness and has chosen it as an ideal place for a retreat. Rural houses and old buildings have been carefully restored and transformed into private homes of great beauty.

This book selects some of the most elegant and original of these: farms and historic buildings that differ in terms of their age, style, and taste, but all of which are imbued with the Mediterranean charm of that preserved corner of Puglia.

All the homes have been freshly photographed by Filippo Bamberghi, with views and decorative details of the houses and glimpses of the surrounding landscape.

A text by journalist Patrizia Piccinini, based on interviews with the owners of the houses, recounts the history of the buildings, the genesis of the projects, and the bond between the owners and the territory.

Published by Rizzoli