Cristina and Alessandro are beyond super hosts. They are super humans: generous, kind, patient. They gave us expert tips on where to go, what to see, what to do. We are learning Italian and the hours we spent with them in conversation improved not just our language but our understanding of what it means to be Italian, to live in Puglia. The house is beautiful, the access to other sites of great beauty and interest is really covenient. But truly the highpoint for us was meeting such great people and thereby having a much deeper understanding of where we were. The house worked perfectly; it's beautiful, well equipped and supplied and cool; although there is air conditioning, we hardly used it because the house is so well designed. The fresh figs off the tree were sweet beyond imagining, the pool was fresh and clean, the blackberries the sweetest we've ever tasted -- and all of that from the garden. We visited Matera, Locorotondo, Martina franca, Monopoli, Taranto and many lovely places in between, so it was a great jumping-off place. We love Puglia and there could be no better place from which to explore it.