Tucked away, down the quiet, sun-dappled streets that are oh-so-romantic – evoking every idyllic image one has of a cultured Italian escape – Nardo House perfectly sets the pace of your Puglia getaway. Just steps away from the heart of baroque Nardò, the Piano Nobile apartment offers all of the creature comforts, with layers of sagacious style, and handwritten recipes on la dolce vita.
Making it very easy for you to arrive, open the doors that lead out onto a terrace, and the windows that whisk you out with the rooftop views, and take in the ancient ambience of your surroundings. You’re immediately in tune with Nardò’s vibrant rhythms. The morning markets, midday rest, and lively evenings in the square. The apartment sits just off Piazza Salandra, yet the street remains delightfully peaceful, smothered in history and inspiration. With the chatter of local life, live music and felicità wafting through the air.
The owner of Nardo House has curated a sensible interior space of the apartment. Cool linens, crisp cottons, statement pieces of art, and a blend of antique and contemporary furnishings. A viola marble bathroom and plenty of balconies to witness the goings on around you.
Two suites – the Library and Piazza suite – overlook the charming Piazzetta de Simone and the Piazza Salandra respectively. Both with their own pockets of tranquility for you and the individual members of the clan to retreat to. There’s a separate TV lounge with a large sofa for movie nights or quiet evenings.
Generous spaces that implore those sublimely simple moments of sitting around the table. Mapping out the day’s plans or just having one of those conversations that we only have when on holiday. Catching up, recollecting and reconnecting. Some hours will allow for curling up with a book in the north-facing sitting room, horizontal on the heavenly sofas, or gathering in the well-equipped cook’s kitchen.
The kitchen has everything a home cook desires, with all of the right appliances and a layout designed for that image of Italy to unfold. Fat, juicy tomatoes, lashings of the region’s olive oil, plump parcels of burrata.
Freshly baked pane and creamy formaggio. Sourced from the day’s adventures. And then all of the other culinary delights the clan’s appointed cook would like to dish up from the home’s Lacanche range. There’s no urgency here, at Piano Nobile in Nardo House. This first floor apartment invites you to settle in, and stay a while.
Sole, storia e riposo
Upon arrival, and whatever journey it has been to get to the apartment, you will be welcomed with fresh coffee in the machine, wine chilling in the fridge, and the reassurance of the breakfast basics stocked. Ready for your first morning on the little verandah.
Access is easy, via the palazzo’s original stone staircase or a beautiful emerald-green lift. You’re 10 minutes from the glittering Ionian coast. The nearest beach is in Santa Caterina, which is often referred to as the “Beverly Hills of Salento”. You’ll spend your days exploring Lecce’s golden stone, Galatina’s baroque gems, and the many, many enchanting towns nearby.
The best of Puglia is immediately on your doorstep, and almost everything is within a scenic 20-minute drive. Whether you’re here to unwind or to go out and seek new discoveries, or to simply rediscover yourself and one another under the Salento sun, Nardo House is your home in the heart of southern Italy.
Written by Colleen Ogilvie