Trulli Pietra Luna

14/08/2024

Summer Days !

06/08/2024

04/07/2024

We are so delighted that our outdoor kitchen is ready to use for the summer. The final piece of our outdoor renovation puzzle. Thank you to https://www.facebook.com/pugliaartist for his attention to detail and wonderful artistic input on the design.

24/05/2024

The poppies are here and the pool is open - let summer commence !

28/04/2024

After a week of getting the trullo ready for the summer how better to end the trip with a delicious lunch in perfect surroundings.

16/10/2023

Its pomegranate season !

15/08/2023

Buon Ferragosto da Pietra Luna

10/08/2023

Fabulous drone shot of the Trullo and pool

17/07/2023

From sunrise to sunset! And yes it’s quite hot here at the moment but a shady spot under an olive tree or a dip in the pool soon cools you down !

10/07/2023

Alberobello last night

04/06/2023

How it started ( May 2018) versus how it’s going ! 5 years later

18/05/2023

A pool ! Its only taken us 4 1/2 years to get to this point but finally the end is in sight and we can swim in our own pool!

19/03/2023

It may be Mother’s Day in the UK but it is Fathers Day here in Italy so we have to try some traditional pasticciere Zeppole eaten on the celebration day of San Giovese ( the first father!) Can’t go wrong with a choux bun combined with amarena cherry and crema ! Happy Mothers and Father’s Day to everyone celebrating, remembering and anticipating today

04/10/2022

Today is the 5 year anniversary of owning Pietra Luna and what an exciting journey! We have learned to accept the slower pace of life whilst spending time there and made an amazing community of friends both Puglian locals and other ‘expat’ owners too. Not even sure which way to get to the trulli after the crazy signing over ceremony we arrived in the dark and I got my first real life glimpses of our new home. Only one of us had done the house search and therefore it was a complete discovery adventure as we arrived. Our trulli had already been converted but had lain empty for a number of years. We have poured our love and energies into bringing it back to life - an on going project It sometimes feels we will never be finished but with pool permission finally granted hopefully the final pieces will be complete in the year to come. Here’s to many more sunrises!

22/09/2022

Masseria Amastuola is set high on a hill above the Taranto coast near to Crispiano and Massafra. The ancient masseria is believed to have it’s origins in the 1400’s and is now owned by a local family - the Montanas, who began to rescue the land just after the start of the millenium and subsequently renovated the property to a very high standard. Originally an olive farm the ancient olive trees were relocated around the land to make way for the magnificent hectares of vines, the largest single location of organic vines in Italy.
The vineyard produces wine from the production plant based in Massafra mainly red wine but also a white, rosata and spumante.
During our visit we tried four different wines and were taken through the tasting notes and production process for each, accompanied by a delicious plate of cheeses and meats. Our guide Serena was very knowledgeable and happy to answer all our questions as well as give us an insight to growing up in a traditional wine loving family.
A highly recommended visit despite a 40 minute journey from our Trulli we will definitely be taking future guests

28/08/2022

One of our adventures this summer has been to explore the coast from the sea. We took a Gommone e snorkeling trip with Dive Blu Monopoli . We had exclusive use of a rib with a skipper and two snorkelling guides. We left from the new Monopoli harbour to the north of the town and were taken along the coast south towards Monopoli where we stopped offshore for a swim then onto the Castello di Santo Stefano bay where we explored the caves and ancient retreat baths of the monks. All the equipment we needed was provided and the snorkeling guides showed us the best places to swim to see the fish and sea anemones. It was amazing to see Monopoli from a whole new angle and the boat team kept us informed of the history of the coast line that we saw. Not sure that snorkeling was a natural for everyone - maybe a little more instruction from the team would have been helpful! Lots of new beaches spotted to try for the future too.

04/06/2022

Poppy and cherry season in Puglia

27/03/2022

Primavera

14/10/2021

For a number of years we have wanted to visit the caves of Castellana - Grotte di Castellana and this visit that we made it happen. During the summer months this attraction is extremely busy, and still very popular outside peak season but it is so worth the effort. Booking online is recommended and tours are carried out in English, French as well as Italian. There is a short tour and a long tour and we highly recommend the latter in order to see the full extent of the spectacle.
These caves were only fully explored in 1938-40 having been surrounded by mysterious superstition from the local population who believed the enormous hole in the ground could be the gates to hell!
Starting in the biggest and only open cave - the Grave you experience a wonderful world of stalagmites and stalactites forming mysterious shapes akin to magical sea creatures rising from the ground and falling from the sky. This cave has formations of many colours some covered with moss and alagae, others full of iron and other minerals. The photos below are all in this area and photography is not permitted beyond the first cave.
The caves are a constant temperature around 17/18C and very humid. The walk is 1.5km each way through a labyrinth tunnels and spectacular open caves, past chasms filled with rock and the calcite creations. Some resembling strands of spaghetti they are so fine, others like bright carrots due to the iron deposits. Once in the various caves the enormous stalagmites resemble structures such as the Tower of Pisa, thrones and cathedrals. You pass a solitary pond so still and clear it look like a sheet of glass, and see a crystal geode like formation the size of a small table. The final cave known as the white cave is pure calcite at 70m below the ground it has almost 100% humidity. This cave is smaller but so beautiful and is said to be the most shining cave in the world. The formations are so white and in some cases almost translucent with not just ‘ordinary’ stalagmites and stalactites but calcite sails that look as though they are made of flowing fabric. Coral or cauliflower shaped calcite deposits line the walls formed when the caves were under water a hundred million years ago.
As you can probably tell we were enchanted and our only comment was that we wish we had longer to stop and take in the breathtaking sights we saw.

01/10/2021

The garden at the trulli is something we have worked hard on over the last year in preparation hopefully one day for the addition of a pool to the grounds. We have taken on a wonderful gardener - Jon who has helped us maintain and improve the fabulous planting scheme and landscaping of Zizzi Garden Design. One particular area that we are excited about is the development of our cloud pruned olive, which will sit at the end of the pool! These are these outside properties all over Puglia and Jon is working wonders with one of our ancient trees. Starting with a small wall and some planting a few years back Jon then did his initial pruning only a year ago. Look at it now!

27/09/2021

Yesterday was the Red Bull Cliff diving final in Polignano a Mare a short drive from the trullo. Such an exciting event to watch. Congrats to British diver Gary Hunt who scored a perfect 10 and went on to win the men’s diving.

06/09/2021

Olive groves are abundant in Puglia they are everywhere you look. There is a huge drive to keep down the spread of Xyella which is devastating olive groves further south. So it is key that we play our part and try our best to keep our olives healthy. We were largely unable to travel last year and so had to rely on fabulous friends to help us with the harvest which we finally were given the fruits of this summer. Better late than never we have canned over 30 litres of oil with the next step being creating our very own branded labels.

26/08/2021

Something a little different to explore the local countryside - Puglia Buggy offer buggy excursions which involve a couple of hours driving around the remote Puglian countryside. A visit to a derelict masseria and an original trullo are included as well as the opportunity to bomb round a field.

https://www.facebook.com/Puglia-Buggy-415588752233986/

22/08/2021

Yesterday we were delighted to be invited celebrate a birthday party with our neighbours at their trulli. We started at lunch time at Ristorante Le Arcate by making traditional Puglian pasta orecchiette which was served with some delicious Puglian delicacies.
The party continued after a scheduled Siesta naturally at the Trulli. The property has yet to be fully restored but has electricity and water as well as an original working pizza oven. It is in a magical spot and I look forward to seeing what it will become.
Sara and Tim both turned 50 this year hence the 100 reference. I was asked to make a cake for them. This is a very traditional Victoria sandwich cake with a vanilla sponge, buttercream and English raspberry gin jam filling. The top has been decorated with buttercream and figs and blackberries from our local area, finally finished with some lavender and salvia from the our garden and wild scabious all of which are edible flower varieties. Huge thank you to Ristorante Le Arcate Alberobello for letting me use their kitchen to create the cake

17/08/2021

Sunrise is most certainly the most magical time of day at the Trulli. So restorative to be here again after such an extended time away.

13/05/2021

12/05/2021

Our favourite local vineyard is now open for tours again

Finalmente ritornano i nostri wine tour, un'occasione per conoscere la nostra cantina e i nostri prodotti, immersi nella piacevole cornice dei nostri vigneti.
📌Non dimenticare di prenotare il tuo wine-tour.
Finally our wine tours are back, an occasion to know our winery and our products, surrounded by the pleasing frame of our vineyards.
📌 Remember to book your wine tour.

24/04/2021

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