Il Sogno delle Benedettine

The project, curated by Interior designer Annabella Zavoianni, who works in the furniture shop Capricci delle Badesse (Conversano, province of Bari, Via Ronchi, 38, telephone +39 080 4953170, Instagram capriccidellebadesse), consisted of a recovery architectural and functional of a seventeenth century building located in the historic center of Ostuni to impress the tourist destination. The common thread that guided all the choices was to create a limited number of rooms without thinking, as is often the case in accommodation facilities, of a large number of beds. On the contrary, we have tried to offer as much space as possible available to those who stay. With this in mind, only four accommodations (including rooms and suites) have been created, all very large to accommodate a maximum of eight people in the whole Boutique Hotel. One suite measures even one hundred and ten square meters and is equipped with a private swimming pool for the exclusive use of the occupants, heated and equipped with hydromassage system, bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen, designed only for two people.

The architectural design and furnishings of this suite called Mectilde, in particular, were very daring, as the plan of the suite has a long and narrow rectangle shape (3.50 x 31.00 meters). The intrinsic difficulty of the elongated shape of the building has been favorably overcome by means of suitable solutions, including the insertion of the bathroom in the center of a room, the walls of which are made up of mirrors and glass. The final effect is surprising and demonstrates the adequacy of the happy solution adopted.

Each room is different from the other both in size and in the division of spaces, as well as in the furnishings.

The Cecilia room is characterized by a bathroom suspended on four glass plates that allow a glimpse of the ancient stone floor below. Also noteworthy is a large round tub with hydromassage located inside the bathroom. The two sinks made by the Salento artist Mario d’Aquino are also very particular.

Even the smaller rooms, Assunta and Giustina, are characterized by particular characteristics. Assunta is a very quiet room because it borders on a private garden and its furniture includes, in addition to the bed, the bedside tables and the clothes stand, also a comfortable dormeuse.

Giustina, on the other hand, is characterized by the presence of an antique French bed, which makes the rest of the occupants very intimate and collected. It also has the incomparable advantage of having direct access to the citrus grove, through a glass door protected by elegant curtains. From the bathroom, through a glass placed on a trap door, you can glimpse an ancient and large room below, in the past used as a storage for foodstuffs.

The name of the Bed and Breakfast is inspired by the adjacent Benedictine monastery of San Pietro, whose construction began in 1519 on an area donated by the feudal lord of Ostuni Isabella d'Aragona, daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon, king of Naples, in memory of the passage from Ostuni to San Pietro who, having disembarked from Brindisi and headed for Rome, traveled the Via Appia.

The restoration lasted over four years and consisted of an architectural and functional recovery that respected the time of construction of the property and its intrinsic characteristics. The flooring is mostly in stone, partly torn up without damaging it and laid again to create the water, sewage, heating and cooling and electrical systems. Where the flooring was non-existent because it was lost in past years, a cement resin flooring was created.
Whenever possible, the original plaster and even the original whitewashing coats have been preserved, suitably refreshed by additional coats of lime. Many windows and doors are also the original ones, repaired thanks to the intervention of an elderly carpenter and painted with ancient techniques.

The final result is that of the serenity of the nearby former convent of the Benedictine Sisters, recreating a place suspended in time, without the hassle of ordinary occupations to ensure maximum relaxation for guests. At the same time, the restoration made it possible to create all the technological comforts that cannot be missing in a luxurious high-level accommodation facility.

The offer is completed by a rich breakfast made exclusively with local organic products with reduced environmental impact in terms of zero kilometer.

Large common areas have been planned, including a greenhouse that houses succulent plants and climbing plants that you cross to reach the bedrooms. The breakfast room is also very large and there is a long table where guests can taste the Apulian delicacies and socialize with each other. In the reception area there is an ancient stone fireplace, which is always lit during the winter. Another common area is a large citrus grove where guests can relax, have a drink, read a book or work on the computer, inebriated by the scent of oranges and lemons.

Particular attention has been paid to the furnishings, characterized by a happy mix of fine 18th and 19th century antique furniture and modern design furniture made by Driade, Opinion Ciatti, Kartell, Tooy, Karman, Horm, Mogg, Slamp, Light & Living, Lineaquattro.