Barbara was a great host, although away in Milan during our whole stay. But we coordinated our arrival time via Airbnb app (she has great English) and she offered to have her father, Gianni, meet us at Otranto train station midday, to drive us & our luggage. The start of a lovely friendship as Gianni lives nextdoor with his lovely wife Ileana. Note: There is a smaller unit on Airbnb above, but we wanted the 1 bedroom with separate kitchen/living room. Everything was spotlessly clean. Better than any place ever seen before! Kitchen had good selection of utensils and good stove / oven & refrigerator, toaster & coffeemaker (moka, a particular Italian-type expresso pot). All the basics you could require for comfortable living, including TV & Wi-Fi. Weekly Change of Linens (towels & sheets) were offered. The bathroom has a great shower, good pressure & large enough for a 6-feet plus tall guy! Rooms had room-darkening shutters for morning sun, & allowed privacy with windows opened. So never used the AC in May. The terrace & pretty pergola gave us the chance to eat outside, under beautiful salento sunshine. And when it rained, nothing flooded or leaked! Perfect. And it is located on such a quiet peaceful street. Felt so safe to walk about. And Barbara had provided a useful instruction folder in English with suggestions of places to see & eat, in case guests don’t speak Italian. A very short walk to the beaches, (both rocky and sandy) made this an amazing stay. 15 mins slow walk along the bay (lungomare) brings you to the beautiful Castello & numerous restaurants & shops. (Check out la Bella Idrusa for great value - warning very popular!) Can also pay 10eur for the cute little 2-person ape-car if going out in heels (otranto taxi service that will offer tours on request) The Supermarket (Conad) within a few mins of the apartment had a delicious selection of fruits & vegetables, Vino, meat and all the necessities for 10day stay. We loved our stay at Casa Azzurra (as we called it, due to its azure blue shutters & white colors). We had many wonderful conversations with Gianni & asked him to join us for dinner twice, as he went above and beyond in friendliness. Truly made us understand what living in Otranto was like for locals. He brought us to nearby towns like Minervino and Giurdignano to add to our experience of Salento region & foods. My husband was desperate for something more than the “citta storica” restaurants which specialize in Fish, fish,& more fish. Gianni gave us a true taste of the world famous southern Italian hospitality. Gianni was such a lovely intelligent, and refined gentleman, although my ability to communicate was unfortunately limited to speaking through my husband (who is northern Italian). By the end of our trip we felt he was more like a friend than a landlord. He even offered to drive us to Lecce on our departure!!!! Unbelievable. Such...