We are the seed which rises in the spring…
We are committed to learning from our land and to taking the time to allow the land to nurture its growth so that we might gain from its harvest in a sustainable manner. We believe that land regeneration and personal regeneration go hand in hand.
We continue to dream about the future of our estate and are reforesting three hectares of land with 20,000 newly planted diverse local trees. We have restored four ancient cisterns under the villa, and another one in the fields. We use rain and artesian-well water to irrigate our crops, and divert some to the villa, too. The use of our agricultural techniques will dramatically cut the use of water about four years after having established the new trees.
We practice regenerative farming. This means much more than shunning pesticides and herbicides. We refrain from tilling the soil and we leave the earth to tend itself. This way we avoid damaging microbes and fungi and other creatures that enrich the soil. Unturned soil holds water better. We cultivate covering crops to act as a kind of green armour when the land is fallow. This protects the soil from swings in temperature, which preserves coolness in the summer and warmth in the winter. This technique helps preserve moisture.
All of this is great news for the aubergines and courgettes and tomatoes and herbs that we grow and eat!
More than 220 olive trees yield fruit for our homemade oil. And our vineyards produce surprising red and rosé wines from Primitivo, a favourite grape of Puglia, and Aleatico, famous for a cult passito wine in Elba, but in fact also an Apulian grape. We are planting Susumaniello vines, a little known variety from this part of Italy.
With most of our food grown on the property, we’re a ‘zero-mile’ estate. We do source the meat and seafood that we eat from local butchers and from the local fishing fleet. Meals are prepared in a professional-grade kitchen installed in the ancient cucina.
Our ‘scattered spa’ across the estate is a wonderful opportunity for personal regeneration. Take time to relax in our massage studio. Melt away in a magical hammam or find your own idyllic spots for yoga and meditation throughout the landscape.
Bringing the villa up to date, we assiduously tapped the latest innovations in healthy living. The villa is powered only by electricity, increasingly solar. We dug a half-metre beneath the stone floors in the villa and installed membranes to insulate the house. The water is continuously purified by state-of-the-art techniques. And we designed a bespoke system that continually mixes outside and inside air. The villa literally breathes. And its inhabitants thrive in indoor spaces with superb air quality.