D'Astore architettura
New: On Sale
“Stylish places to stay in Puglia …check into a masseria, or fortified farmhouse, many of which have been renovated recently. Villa Pizzorusso is among the best, with a 25m pool in a vast courtyard garden and a Moorish-style pink exterior, in a secluded spot five minutes from Mesagne. Visit in the summer and you’ll spend much of your time in the courtyard with its large shaded terrace. Within, the old stables have been converted into a huge living area, where a minimalist feel prevails, despite the teak dining table that seats 14 and comfy chairs round the fireplace. Some bedrooms have frescoed ceilings or intricate tile work, while others have stone floors and high, vaulted ceilings.”
“Puglia – Good food and great sites” The Times (London) June 18, 2011
“I grew up here and love it" architect Cosimo D’Astore, who lives and works in Brindisi, Italy, said.
An ancient Greek settlement, this city in Puglia,
a much-invaded region in the peninsular heel of
Italy’s boot, was a principal gateway for crusaders setting sail for Jerusalem.
Brindisi’s history also includes a period of
audacious incursions by Turks and Arab pirates
“ Design Fortitude "
Rosewood Magazine, Summer 2012
during the 1500s. That’s when fortified farmhouses called masserie — less well-known than 19th century corbel-vaulted conical stone trulli houses from the region — emerged inland, away from the penetrable Adriatic coast
Several crumbling masserie still attest to the area’s tumultuous past and the last of these selfsustaining walled compounds, in a sense, are as important as the remnants of the old Appian Way that linked ancient Rome to Brindisi’s harbor.
Restoring masserie has become D’Astore’s passion. He seeks out such bastions, sifts through their history like an archaeologist unearthing ruins,
and brings them back to life.....
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Para a paulistana Cacá Bratke, visitar a
Itália tem sempre um gostinho especial.
Mas nada de percorrer cartõespostais
repletos de turistas. Casada com um nativo da Campanha, ela já conhecia muito bem
a nação da pizza, das lambretas e das águas profundamente azuis do Mediterrâneo. Ainda faltava, porém,uma experiência autêntica, com boas pitadas de história. E, com o casal de filhos pequenos, precisava encontrar um meio de usufruir as belezas daquela terra garantindo boas porções de diversão infantil.
“ Sabor da Itàlia "
Casa medieval na Itália entre oliveiras,
muralhas e boa comida.
Arquitetura & Construcao, januario 2014
Uma alternativa aparentemente inusitada para as férias surgiu numa conversa com dois casais de amigos, cada qual com duas crianças também.
A curiosidade específica de um deles pelo vinhos primitivos da Apúlia (ou Puglia, no idioma original), o lugar identificado popularmente no mapa como o “salto da bota”, levou-os a pesquisar e encontrar a masseria reformada pelo arquiteto Cosimo Mino D’Astore quatro anos antes.
Típico dessa península no sudeste do país, o termo designa as antigas fortificações agrícolas. Atualmente, um bom número delas vem sendo recuperado e convertido em hotéis de charme ou restaurantes.
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Designtripper.com 9/10/12
“A jaw dropping, absolutely flawless (restoration)… Parts of which date back to the 1500s, the main level, all stone arches, ancient rough-hewn stone floors and star-vaulted ceilings, retains a rustic simplicity despite being filled with pristine, modern furnishings like ivory horse-hair chairs and an extra-long dining room table made with a beautiful slab of buried teak wood from Bali. Ancient ceramics abound, stone-carved stairs have been worn away in the center from use, and most charmingly, an old olive press that was found in the living room when they bought it hangs above the fireplace. Upstairs, an owner’s wing was added in the early 1800s (the noble quarters), and the Moorish and neoclassical architectural details are far more extravagant: smooth colorful tiled floors, the faded remains of pastel frescos across ceilings, ornate wood-carved chandeliers, and beautiful antiques in every room to match. There’s a turret at each corner; once watchtowers, they’ve been turned into closets (and in one case, a shower), and views from every single window are unfathomably beautiful. Red soil, pink light and silvery green leaves, the agricultural landscape unfolds with vineyards, fields of grain and secolari, those magnificent, gnarled hundreds-of-years-old olive trees, planted in perfect pin-straight lines as far as the eye can see.
The place is over-the-top stunning inside and out, but we were happiest outside, and spent 90 percent of our waking hours in the courtyard, cooking in the 500-year-old outdoor oven, eating figs we picked right off the trees, swimming in the extra-long pool running along the fortress wall that flanks the citrus grove. There’s a dining table under a pergola, a hammock under the fig tree, lounge chairs around the pool, an outdoor living room with cushy furniture, and smaller tables with chairs scattered about. For anyone with kids, there cannot be a more perfect spot in all of Italy (the photos don’t begin to do the scale or beauty of the place justice).
Although we fell pretty hard for Puglia, which is garnering a well-deserved reputation as a beautiful, more real/authentic (we didn’t see a single other American traveler) and reasonably priced alternative to Tuscany, it was difficult to leave Villa Pizzorusso to explore. I guess that’s the magic though–you really don’t need to.”
“A Great Escape in the Heel of the Boot” Lucire Magazine March 2011
“Villa Pizzorusso, a six-bedroom rental villa, sits in a private compound on its own 15-acre plot, isolated among olive groves. A loving restoration–regeneration has transformed this eighteenth-century property into a tasteful and secure base, which retains the feeling of a country home with the comfort and style of a five-star hotel. For a large family travelling, a corporate group looking for a retreat, or those seeking a truly exclusive experience, this is the place.”
http://lucire.com/2011/0302vo0.shtml
“The 20 Best Villas with Big Pools” The Times (London) January 29, 2011
“Want to do some real swimming? We find the best pools in the Mediterranean… #4 Villa Pizzorusso, Puglia, Italy It’s completely private in the vast courtyard of this stunning pink masseria (fortified farmhouse) near Mesagne, so you can plough up and down the 25m pool in the buff if you want to. The house has stone floors, vaulted ceilings and a shower in a turret, as well as wi-fi and air conditioning. There’s a large covered outside terrace for eating.”
“Turning off the main road, Villa Pizzorusso, my six-bedroom home for the week, appeared in a flash of pink nestled between fields, vineyards and olive groves. Lovingly restored over three-years by its Italian-American owners, the Villa now features tasteful modern touches and flawless furnishings, which blend seamlessly into the Moorish and neo-classic design. With parts of the house dating to the early 15th century, there are also spectacular original features, including frescoes—one was ‘found’ the week before I arrived—beautiful arched ceilings and stone floors softened by five-centuries of wear. Outside, the long pool is positioned next to an enormous vegetable garden, an aranceto (orange grove) and uneven stonewall, which changes from cream to burning orange as the sun sets. An even better spot at dusk is the enormous rooftop, ideal for cocktails.”
“Just Back From… Puglia” Indagare.com August 2010
Mesagne, Puglia: Villa Pizzorusso
Backstory: A Puglian stone masseria (fortified farmhouse) 10 miles from Brindisi, Villa Pizzorusso dates back to the 1500s. That makes it new by local standards: The archeological ruins in the nearby town of Matera, where houses and churches are built into cliffs, are thought to be from the Paleolithic era—making the town older than Jerusalem.
Design: The villa’s Moorish and neoclassical style includes grand arches, colorful floor tiles and original frescoes on the bedroom ceilings. During recent renovations, workers discovered a secret wine cellar, accessible through a trap door in the foyer floor.
Cooking Options: The 500-year-old wood-fired oven (large enough to fit a whole goat from butcher Dario Baldari) is the centerpiece for big dinners under the pergola. Guests can also pick ingredients from the enormous vegetable and herb garden or from the fruit trees around the property, which produce quince, persimmons and mulberries.
Foraging Mentor: When in season, mushroom forager Giuseppe Lolli leads truffle-hunting excursions.
Must-Buy Wines: Located near Mesagne’s historic center is the terrific wine shop Cantine Due Palme, which sells full-bodied Serre made from an ancient red-grape variety called Susumaniello, found only in Puglia
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/from-villas-to-vineyards-the-best-of-italy-now
From Villas to Vineyards: The Best of Italy Now, Food & Wine September 2012
