Taranto, Apulia 74024

Step through the door of this historic townhouse in the old town of Manduria and the first thing you see is a Latin inscription above the entrance: «Deus meus et Dominus meus» ("My God and my Lord"). Behind it lies a home with the unmistakable features of an 18th-century Apulian residence: stone vaulted ceilings, fireplaces in many of the rooms, a small private garden and roof terraces looking out over the old town. The house needs a full restoration, and it is a rare canvas for a family home, a characterful second home in Puglia or a boutique guesthouse. The layout is mainly on the ground floor, arranged over several split levels linked by stone steps and stairways. Room after room reveals architecture that is hard to find this intact: barrel vaults built from dressed stone, cross and star vaults (one of them finished with a carved keystone), round and pointed arches, niches set into thick walls and built-in stone benches. The main hall is a tall, exposed-stone room framed by a moulded cornice, with a large window fitted with iron bars and wooden shutters, reached by a stepped stone seat. An arched doorway and several openings lead on to the neighbouring rooms. Many rooms have their own fireplace: a stone fireplace with a heavy lintel anchors one vaulted room, while in others the hearth sits beneath a tall masonry hood. One room still wears traces of its original sky-blue paintwork, with wall niches and an arched hearth. A pair of large wooden carriage doors opens into a vaulted hall, where a stone staircase climbs to the upper rooms and an arched opening leads down to a lower level. Plenty of original cut stone blocks are stored on site and can be reused in the restoration. Outside, the small interior garden is enclosed by tall stone walls: a sheltered, private corner, currently overgrown and waiting for a new design. Stone steps lead up to the roof terraces, with masonry parapets and old chimneys, where evenings can be spent above the rooftops of the old town. The property requires complete restoration, including plaster, floors, windows and doors, and all services; some walls show damp and smoke marks. The stone structure, vaults and original details give a solid base for a sensitive restoration, to be planned within the rules that protect the historic centre. Updated floor plans and measured areas are currently being prepared by a surveyor. Once restored, the house can work equally well as a private residence or as a small guesthouse: Manduria's historic centre already hosts restored period homes run as B&Bs and holiday rentals, and the Ionian beaches bring steady summer demand. Manduria is the ancient city of the Messapians and the home of Primitivo wine. From the house you can walk to the old town's squares, churches and wine bars. The sandy beaches of San Pietro in Bevagna on the Ionian coast are about 15 minutes' drive away, Taranto about 40 minutes, Lecce about 50 minutes and Brindisi airport about 50 minutes. Viewings can be arranged on request.