For Masseria we generally refer to a piece of rural or agricultural land, typically with a cottage, farmhouse or estate buildings present, and often adjacent to a woodland or plantation.
On the Italian dictionary for “Massaria or Masseria” we consider a reunion of “masse” in the sense of countryside houses, that owned land and animal for farming.
The history teaches us that with the domination of the Spanish in the Regno di Napoli (Kingdom of Naples) between 1500 and 1700 it began to take root the power of the landowners in the area.
So what is a Masseria? It’s a typical constructive typology of the sixteenth and the seventeenth century, that initially represented the result of colonization by the nobles of the Kingdom of Naples of areas in a state of abandonment.
They were spread widely in southern Italy, especially in Puglia and Sicily, and they were a large farm inhabited by both the landowners and the peasants that also included space for stables, warehouses, for fodder and crops.
As they can be found obviously in some part of Spain (finca), they present a housing style typical Mediterranean, with agricultural court, high and fortified walls, a central space that served as barnyard, time has brought major changes which, in some cases, led to make them look much differently than the original forms.
Characterized by large and imposing forms, now masserie are used in most cases as agriturismo (farmhouse) or bed & breakfast, with exceptional results.
Come and stay in one of them…..