Palazzo Napoli

• Bedroom 1: double bed (160x190cm), en-suite shower room
• Bedroom 2: double bed (160x190cm), shared shower room with bedroom 3
• Bedroom 3: twin beds (110x190cm and 90x190cm), shared shower room with bedroom 2
• Bedroom 4: double bed (160x190cm), en-suite shower room
• Bedroom 5: double bed (170x200cm), en-suite shower room. This room can also be accessed externally.

NB: please note that bedrooms 2 and 3 are interconnected.

Reduced Occupancy

During the shoulder seasons, Palazzo Napoli has a reduced price for groups of up to 6 that only need up to 3 bedrooms. The bedrooms not required will be closed, but the rest of the villa, its amenities and its grounds will remain at the complete disposal of guests. Should you book the reduced occupancy rate, the best bedrooms will be prepared for you.

Inside

accommodation at Palazzo Napoli is spread over two floors. The main entrance leads into a welcoming entrance hall, where guests are immediately introduced to the property’s architectural heritage, its generous volumes, and its soulful atmosphere. A loving conservatory restoration has, wherever possible, retained the building’s original features while at the same time discreetly adding ingenious contemporary touches.

Dating back to the 16th century, Palazzo Napoli is a wonderful example of how an aristocratic home might evolve over time. Its lofty vaulted ceilings, curvaceous arches, stone-flagged floors and luxurious materials take us back hundreds of years, but the delightful Liberty-style motifs that adorn many of the rooms (and especially the bedrooms on the first floor) are redolent of early 20th-century aesthetics. The latest additions – quality fixtures and fittings, artisanal ceramics, modern bathrooms, designer lighting and technological innovations – have been inserted with great subtlety, but also add a sense of 21st-century dynamism and flair.

Via a high-reaching arch, the entrance hall sweeps all the way from the front door to the rear of the house, where an impressive open staircase rises to the first floor, and French doors open out onto a terrace and the walled gardens beyond. Furnished with sofas and easy chairs, this long, airy space is the real hub of the home, off which most of the accommodation is accessed.

Immediately on the left of the front door is a beautifully decorated little chapel, another reminder of the property’s heritage, while on the right, double doors open into the main living area, a serene spot furnished with an open-sided chaise-longue and a scattering of easy chairs.

Proceeding along the entrance hall and under the arch, a door on the left opens into the first bedroom, a romantic double with a centrally positioned bed, French doors opening out onto the terrace and gardens, and an en-suite shower room featuring a beautiful, deep blue artisanal ceramic sink.

On the opposite side of the entrance hall from this bedroom, an opening allows the space to flow into a convivial dining room with a round table and access to the terrace, the living room and the kitchen. This latter is another wonderfully voluminous, minimalist space with more of those high ceilings, a central island with bespoke white tiles and integrated hobs, plenty of discreetly designed storage, and up-to-the-minute appliances. A glass door amidst a curvaceous wall of windows opens out onto the terrace.

Back in the entrance hall outside the dining room there is a guest WC hidden away under the impressive open staircase, which leads up to the first-floor landing. From here one may access the remaining bedrooms, all of which feature extremely high vaulted ceilings and ravishing Liberty-style frescoes.

First, on either side of the landing, overlooking the walled gardens is:

• a double bedroom with contemporary four-poster bed, an en-suite shower room and access to a terrace looking out over the gardens and the town
• a double bedroom with a glazed (and curtained) en-suite shower room on (and accessing) the terrace above the gardens. Double doors to one side open into another shared bathroom, of which more below.

Next comes a suite of three interconnecting rooms. The first two are directly accessed from the landing, and all have French doors opening onto ornate balconies above the street:

• a double bedroom with a large four-poster bed and double doors connecting to…
• a twin bedroom (the middle of the three rooms) with centrally positioned single beds and contemporary bedside lights suspended from the ceilings high above. In turn, this room connects to…
• a super-sized bathroom with a centrally positioned, back-to-back pair of gorgeous sinks with floral designs and gold taps, and an open shower in two of the corners.

Outside

al fresco life at Palazzo Napoli revolves around the property's mature walled gardens, which are accessed from the kitchen, the dining room, the entrance hall and the ground floor bedroom.

First is an ample area of terrace featuring geometric green-and-white tiled flooring with leaf motifs, a gracious series of arches supporting the first floor terrace, a variety of sitting areas, and a dining table for lazy al fresco lunches and long dinners under the stars.

The terrace gives way to the gardens, which are mostly laid to lawn. Trees dot the verdant carpet, offering shade and a certain amount of seclusion, and a central path leads down to an elaborately carved baroque stone bench.

On the left of the gardens, meanwhile, is the serene pool, which boasts a solarium area and an infinity edge raised just above the ground.

The first floor terrace (also featuring geometric green-and-white tiles with leaf motifs) is accessed from two of the bedrooms. Running along the entire façade of the property and round to one side, it offers views of the property's walled gardens and the surrounding town.

Located in the heart of Presicce, one of Salento's prettiest towns, Palazzo Napoli is a 16th-century aristocratic home that's been expertly conserved, and imaginatively refurbished by its owner, the architect Giuliano Dell'Uva. The generous volumes and soulful atmosphere underline the property’s important architectural heritage, and restoration project has successfully managed to retain the building’s original features while at the same time discreetly adding ingenious contemporary touches.

Palazzo Napoli is a fine example of how an aristocratic home can evolve over time. Its elegant ceilings, stone floors and luxurious materials take us back to baroque times, but the delightful Liberty-style motifs adorning many of the rooms are inspired by the aesthetics of the early 20th century. The latest additions – high-quality fixtures and fittings, handmade ceramics, modern bathrooms, designer lighting and technological innovations – are subtle but imbued with a sense of 21st-century dynamism.

Palazzo Napoli's proud owner, 2023 Interior Designer of the Year at Elle Décor's International Design Awards, has a particular talent for transforming venerable but neglected buildings into contemporary homes that continue to evoke the aesthetic sensibilities of times past.

The town of Presicce, which appeared in the 2014 British musical film, Walking on Sunshine, brims with architectural treasures, not least the Palazzo Ducale, built by the Normans, the late 18th-century Church of Sant'Andrea Apostolo, and the convent and Church of the Carmine, which date back to the 1500s.

Due to Palazzo Napoli's privileged location in the centre of Presicce, the pool area is overlooked by neighbouring properties.

Due to the nature of the property including terraces low walls and several drops around the grounds, children must be supervised at all times.

Although this property is located within walking distance of some shops and restaurants, we strongly recommend that you hire a car.

There is no private parking at this villa, though public parking is available nearby.