Hotels & Accommodation near Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace

We are not novices to tourism-we drove in Turkey, Greece, visited Europe by rail. However, not knowing the meaning of Italian road signs/addresses, combined with unremarkable, high above the road signage for Masseria Nuovo, we drove anxiously up & down the country road looking for its one-lane dirt track turn off among many others along the road. The host simply handed us a key, indicated 8pm dinner. An early afternoon arrival left us hungry due to the property’s unavailable restaurant. We had to backtrack to find lunch. Sava, the nearest town was small & typically closed from 12pm-4pm, finally finding only gelato.The major town Francavilla Fontana was farther away. Our plan for staying at a masseria was to relax from the stress of driving/parking in Italian towns. By the dinner hour, hunger added to our stress. The menu was only in Italian. If you cater to tourists from other countries, you should accommodate their language. Also, the language barrier with the waiter/host was frustrating. The meal however, once decided upon, was adequately prepared. Disappointingly, there were no other guests during our stay. We had hoped to mingle, meet other people. Typical Italian breakfast was suitable. Had there not been the strain of trying to negotiate the region’s unfamiliar roads, customs & language, our experience may have been different, but we didn’t encounter such difficulties with lodging elsewhere in our two week trip in Puglia. As advertised, Nuovo itself was satisfactory.

Wonderful place for a relaxing holiday. Very pleasant place with friendly service. They took extra effort to arrange for an English speaking gentleman, Cosimo, to check us in and he gave us some background of the Messeria. Breakfast was great. Dinner was better. Nice setting and great food.