A trullo for all seasons

When we bought and restored our trullo with the help of Betty (who even held our hand during the buying process!), we were looking forward to a late spring and summer retreat. But instead, weve been using it all year round.  Weve planted jasmine, lavender and rosemary in March, gathered olives in November, and this New Year we even witnessed rare and astonishing snowfall (from the cosy vantage of our roaring log fire).

This place is a dream come true! Before buying we had heard horror stories about botched restorations, impossible planning permission, etc., etc., but for us the purchase and renovation process has been unbelievably smooth. We simply couldnt have done it all without Betty, whose vast experience and attention to detail have been invaluable in turning a ruin into an oasis of tranquility. Our trullo is now a magnet for all our family and friends. They are in love not just with the creature comforts - from the ensuite bathrooms to the swimming pool - but also with the stunning beauty of the place. That, again, is down to Betty who advised us on landscaping and on traditional decoration.  She knew how to source furniture by picking up items from the various nearby markets or by having them made at low cost by local craftsmen.

This all sound too good to be true, but after three years we know its not. There will always be maintenance and repairs, but in whatever season we go we look forward to rediscovering our beautiful trullo and planning further delights.

Denise De Rome

Our lamia in Puglia

Our lamia in Puglia needed almost a complete re-build when we bought it in early 2013. We did not speak Italian, and we had full time jobs in the UK.

Luckily, Betty was able to take on the project management for us and within a year it was not only ready to live in but beautiful, too. Betty's team of builders was excellent, her own sense of design was perfect, and the project was completed quickly and free of any serious snags. We and our ten grandchildren have been enjoying the house and pool ever since.

Samsara

An historical trullo located in the Agro of Ceglie, in Val d'Itria, Southern Italy. Built in 1700, it had been abandoned for over fifty years. Elisabetta Cerioli, interior designer from Bologna with a weakness for Puglia, has immediately understood how it could become with a hint of imagination and vision.

A light and well thought out refurb, "because it could maintain the same appeal and the same age patina as when I've first seen it." Unaltered even the bucolic landscape scenario: silence, chirping of the cicadas, olive trees, fruit trees, esplanades of plumbago, lavender and jasmine surrounding the building.Immersed in silence, the trullo is only 10 minutes from Martina Franca and 11 from Ostuni. About the "white city", Ettore Della Giovanna, great journalist of the First World War, used to writ: "You need to go to Ostuni for understanding what it means to stay sheltered from the sun, for not wanting more novels, not to think anymore to travel far away: here you feel the equator is at your fingertips".During the warm season, which lasts several months here, you live much time outdoors. There are numerous corners equipped in the shade not to feel the dryness.

Under the pergola covered with cannucciato, a built-in sofa and a pair of wrought iron sofas are perfect for a chat or a good book.The interiors are fresh and furnished in a sober and elegant style, while in a comfy informality typically of holiday houses. The large square and rectangular openings cut out in the roundness of the living room create interconnected areas of regular shapes.Large openings windows overlook the outside, with a restful view.

The floors are colored in concrete with ground. The style is customized and eclectic: the pieces of furniture have been recovered everywhere, while furniture, lamps and tables have been designed by Elizabeth Cerioli and made by local craftsmen.

Wonderful the panorama over the greenery that can be enjoyed from the kitchen too. Here, instead, the furniture has been made in massive masonry, with wooden doors. The color-leitmotif inside and outside the house is the violet, in all its various shades and gradations. From the chaise longues to the toilet seat cover, from pillows to the tissues of some sofas, ending with the canopy bed with soft gauze curtains in the sleeping area.

"It's my favorite color," explains the landlady. "The trullo is a solid and clear color construction, so I looked for a color harmony of the whole building, adding violet here and there on a neutral palette."Then a few rustic-chic touches, like the wooden ladder leaning against the wall of the bathroom as a practical towel rail.Finally, the most loved space, en plein air: a small round pool, with water flushing, half-hidden by a small wall in dry stone.A house to be lived out in every season, confident in the sweet and heady climate of the region.