Galatina – Glorious Architecture, Gourmet Food

I have always loved Galatina which is larger and, originally, grander than Nardò, where I live. The grandeur may be now somewhat faded but this adds to the romanticism of the Centro Storico where the sheer density of beautiful buildings, … Continue reading

Buying and restoring La Lanterna – a superlative sfida!

Kathryn, Fred and their daughter Kitty (one of four children) came on one of my Puglia property trips last February. We had spoken a couple of times and exchanged countless emails and two things were immediately clear to me; firstly … Continue reading

La Festa dell’Immacolata, 8th December

The public holiday on the 8th of December, known as the ‘Immacolata’ creates some confusion, among the less devout, about what is being celebrated other than, clearly, the start of the Christmas festivities (seeMore than 12 days of Christmas in … Continue reading

Palazzo Cairney – a buyer’s perspective, before and after

Readers of my latest Property news will know that we have just finished work on a large project in the historic centre of Nardò and that it is now available for holiday bookings :  We had nightmares with the chamber of commerce and the local council which meant that we had to delay formal bookings till now, so there are great last minute offers for August and September.

It has been an amazing, exhausting and exhilarating experience working on the house and Lorna (see below) has been the perfect client. I have to say, at this point, that the fact that the house is called Palazzo Cairney is my fault – I started calling it that as a joke and it stuck!  Scroll down for before video  and visit the Palazzo Cairney youtube channel to see the final result here and for more detailed room before and afters (with somewhat amateurish voice overs)… Continue reading

Personal Puglia Property News

I have been somewhat quiet on the blogging front as, for the last 11 months, we have been working flat out on a large restoration project. The house was the first one mentioned in this article. Someone saw it on … Continue reading

Nardò Nosh part 1 – L’Inferno

The joys of living in a small town in Puglia are many, and you soon acquire your favourite places to eat and drink. Generally, meals are so affordable that you tend, like the locals, to eat out a lot and, … Continue reading