Agriturismo Masseria Aprile, Locorotondo

During our first three nights in Italy we will stay in the Masseria Aprile. It is possible I will describe this incorrectly, but an "agriturismo masseria" is a government designation which allows a family with a farm to operate it as a hotel.

The family farm where we are staying has exceptional stone buildings in outstanding condition. And it has agricultural land, about thirty acres, with edible plants. Not enough to sell and feed the masses, but crops enough for the family to be self-sustaining.

From the covered terrace of the stone breakfast pavilion, as we sip our cappuccini, we look onto the cherry orchard, tall sculptural artichoke plants, grape vineyards and fields of poppies and grasses swaying whichever way the wind blows. Also there is a pony. And there is an asino, which we call burro, donkey, ass. I asked if the asino has a job. No, they said, he is a pet. Last week, we saw Shakespeare's A MIdsummer NIght's Dream which has a character named Bottom who turns into an asino with tall pointy ears. Here, our pet asino has those tall ears, too, and a crooked bottom as if he has too much stuffing on one side of his tail and not enough on the other. In the morning, he walks the grounds mowing the lawn with his teeth.

Our room, on the ground floor of the main building, is located where the corners of two buildings come together. We have a stone room with bath and we have a covered patio with tile floor and coved stone roof. Passing through a door of the patio we have an outdoor dining table, for twelve, facing a large garden and stone terrace. That dining table is just outside a stone arch. Inside the stone arch is a food preparation area with a stone fireplace for cooking over a wood fire. Finally, there is an outdoor shower and a stone wash basin for laundry.  

We are in the the village of Locorotondo in the Province of Bari. It runs down the east coast of the Italian peninsula and ends at the southern-most tip of the boot. (We will explore it next week when we relocate to Lecce, pronounced, lay-chay). It is mostly flat. It has more olive trees than Italy has people. Also there are fig trees. Anywhere a fig seed can find a speck of dirt it moves in and grows. There is bougainvillea and cactus and sago palms. Everything that grows in California grows here, too. 

There is a type of small building unique to this area. It is called a trullo. It is a pile of stones without mortar or stucco. The bottom portion can be square or round, but the top portion, the top half, is a cone, a large pointy-tipped cone. Our masseria has a cluster of them. They are attractive and handsome. I would not want to endure an earthquake in one, but I love looking at them. 

Saving the best for last, a few words about our inn keepers. They are an affectionate family and very proud to share the best of their Italian life with visitors. The exceptional mama is Anna Marie. One morning she said, "I coccolarvi", I want to pamper you. Every morning she, (and her daughter), bake the breakfast items and make the coffee. They are our family for a sweet few days. She makes a Piemontese cake with ground hazelnuts. A coffee cake made with coffee, rich and dark. She cultivates fresh yogurt and creates the jams—of apricot and fig from her trees—to spoon into it. She has made them all of her life for her own family. we are lucky she takes care of us, too.

She, her husband and their daughter Stefania were amused by our attempt to speak their Italian. They were helpful and good teachers of Italian. Anna Marie has a beautiful voice. One morning she began to sing a song written by a native son a few villages away. I know that song, Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu. in America, we call it Volare. I have memorized the Italian lyrics. I sang along with her and we laughed and smiled and drank more coffee and ate more yogurt and jam and cake and life in that moment was outstanding.

Anna Marie grew up on her farm. It has been in her family for several centuries. It is more than a job. She is proud to share the best of her Italian life with her guests. I wrote a short speech of appreciation. I read it to her when we parted. There was a moment of sweet silence at the end. We were happy to have met her. Wes chose Masseria Aprile out of hundreds of listings. It was perfect. Thank you, Wes, and thank you, Anna Maria and Stefania.

Wes and Marlow

Agriturismo Masseria Aprile

Locorotondo, Bari Province, Italy

May 10, 2016