Nieves’ place is exactly what you imagine a beautiful, old southern Italian villa to be like. The building is incredible; full of character but with modern facilities. The garden is a wonderful sprawl of established fruit trees, beautiful landscape and a small pool. This on its own would have been enough but what really stood out was Nieves’ unfaltering hospitality and kindness. We immediately felt at home and Nieves welcomed us into her life- going above and beyond- throughout our stay nothing was too much trouble. We sat and put the world to rights whilst her beautiful children played in the background. In terms of location, the house is a short drive to Lecce- which is a must see in southern Italy. Nieves’ recommendations of hidden gems around the coast were brilliant too. And to top it all off there were the sweet little kittens. I thoroughly recommend a stay here.