This is a very special B&B. My wife, 1 yr old son, and I stayed for 4 nights in late August and it was the highlight of our trip to Puglia. Mario and Ute are the warmest of hosts. They were eager to share their time and information with us when we sought that out, but also completely respected our privacy when we were spending time alone. We were looking for an authentic stay in the countryside, a place to relax away from the tourist centers (easily reached from here). This was a perfect fit for that. We looked at many of the more expensive Masserie in the area, but were attracted to Mario and Ute's place because it is a real farm, not a farm that has been converted into an overly fancy hotel space. This is not to say that the apartment we stayed in was farm-like: the house itself is kept very clean and the house has been recently re-finished in its original style. Stepping outside, we were able to pet the donkeys at any time of day or night or walk around the property picking fresh figs from the many fig trees while munching tarallini, and sipping local wine.
We had no idea donkeys were such affectionate and curious creatures. They immediately approached any time we came by their enclosure and you can hug them and pet/scratch them to your/their hearts content. Mario will also encourage you to go inside the enclosure for a more up-close experience if you're looking for that. The animals are very powerful, but completely unaggressive. We felt comfortable with our 1 yr old in our arms as the donkeys nuzzled and prodded us with their faces.
If you do stay here, we encourage you to let Mario and Ute cook dinner for you. Their food was far better than anything else we ate while we were in Italy. Fresh pasta and vegetables, the freshest of seafood, prepared with great love and attention. The same was true of the breakfast that was included with our stay. Mario and Ute were extremely generous with their time and their wine and their food and olive oil. They were always available if we had a question about a place we wanted to try and visit during our stay or if we were looking for a dinner recommendation at a nearby restaurant. They would even play with our son during breakfast to try and give us a chance to relax and eat while he attempted to handle and dismantle anything within his reach.
We could feel that Mario and Ute truly care about the experience they give to their guests and that they have a genuine desire to connect with the people staying with them. They are the most lovely people, we can't thank them enough, and hope that we will be able to come back and stay with them again sometime soon. Thank you Mario and Ute! Love, Gregg, Shilpa, and Tazio