Valle d’Itria is an aspiring luxury resort

REPORT

International investors are building five-star accommodation such as the Borgo Egnazia. European funding for the renovation of farmhouses The route that is now marked is heading towards luxury. Farmhouses converted into resorts, such as Borgo Egnazia in Savelletri (Brindisi), to mention the most well known, are famous worldwide. Inaugurated in 2010 near the Egnazia archaeological site among the lush Apulian hills and ancient olive groves overlooking the Adriatic. In 2021, Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts, a world leader in the hospitality sector, and Omnam Group, a global real estate agent, announced the construction of a new resort with 150 rooms and suites, with direct access to the Costa Ostuni beach in the small town of Mogale, with a swimming pool and large spa area. Also in 2021, luxury hotel company and part of the LVMH group, Belmond, acquired the Le taverne farmhouse in Ostuni, to create a five-star resort between the town, known as the ‘White Pearl’, and Rosa Marina.

‘Tourism in Valle d’Itria is changing once more - remarks Vittorio Carparelli, a former advisor at Turismo di Ostuni between 2016 to 2018. Previously, people came here to enjoy privacy, now, with the post-Covid rediscovery of Puglia, the big spenders are coming. Therefore, will we be as far-sighted as in 2010 and will we still grow in this direction?’. In 2018, Carparelli promoted and registered the Union of the six Municipalities: Ostuni, Locorotondo, Alberobello, Cisternino, Martina Franca, and Ceglie Messapica, to share skills and services in order to become a single tourist destination. Welcome, then, to Valle d'Itria at the heart of Puglia, situated between the provinces of Bari, Brindisi and Taranto, also known as Murgia dei

Trulli, in the southern part of the Murge and north of upper Salento. An area that is rich in both gastronomic and cultural specialities.