The masseria — a fortified Puglian farmhouse — is one of southern Italy's most evocative building types, and Masseria Torre Maizza, in the countryside outside Savelletri di Fasano, is among the most carefully restored. Rocco Forte took it over in 2019 and reimagined it as an adults-only resort that respects the bone structure of the original 16th-century building.
Whitewash, Stone and Olive Light
The 40 rooms and suites are distributed between the original masseria building and new low-rise wings that echo its forms. Interiors, by Olga Polizzi, are a masterclass in restraint: lime-washed walls, local 'pietra leccese' stone floors, antique Puglian furniture, and a muted palette that lets the olive groves outside do the talking. The Torre Maizza Suite, in the original watchtower, has 360-degree views over the estate.
The Pool, the Beach Club, and the Golf
The 25-metre pool sits within an olive grove, loungers set at a distance that suggests solitude rather than occupancy. A short shuttle — or a 15-minute bike ride through the estate's own paths — reaches the Coccaro Beach Club, a private stretch of Adriatic sand. The estate also includes a 9-hole golf course, the only one in Puglia, threaded through the olive trees.
Apulia by the Plate
The restaurants — there are two — are rooted in the region's raw-material wealth. The main restaurant, managed in collaboration with the nearby Vineria Pugliese, serves burrata made that morning, orecchiette with turnip tops, and grilled local fish. The more informal poolside bar does excellent Puglian small plates. The estate's own olive oil — pressed from trees that predate the masseria — appears on every table.
Puglia has always been a place of defensive walls turned to hospitality. Torre Maizza continues that tradition beautifully.
The Spa, in the Cantina
The spa occupies the masseria's former olive-oil cellar, a vaulted stone space that keeps naturally cool even in August. Treatments centre on olive oil and local salt — an olive-oil massage here is not a gimmick but a genuinely traditional practice. There's a hammam, a small indoor pool, and a relaxation room with views into the olive grove.
Why It Matters
Masseria Torre Maizza gets the balance right between preservation and comfort: enough of the original building's austere beauty survives to feel like you've stepped somewhere real, but the plumbing, the bedding and the service are unmistakably Rocco Forte. The adults-only policy preserves the contemplative quiet that the building was, for centuries, built around.
