Just outside of Ostuni, this 16th-century farmhouse beckons travellers looking for a traditional Puglian retreat. Ancient trulli have been converted into individual suites complete with vaulted ceilings and private gardens. Explore the rural village, book yourself into a class at the hotel’s cookery school or taste-test your way through 80 different Puglian wines before resting your head under fig and olive trees that shade the twinkling infinity pool.

Suspended between sky and sea at the peak of Ostuni, the 15 rooms and suites of this boutique bolthole occupy a 16th-century palazzo hewn from Apulia stone. Aromatic lavender plants and potted citrus trees dot a sun-drenched terrace outside, while the Michelin-starred restaurant Cielo overlooks the winding alleys and whitewashed houses of Ostuni below. With a nod to local cuisine, chef Lombardi whips up a selection of innovative plates: hare-stuffed pasta, cold spaghetti served with raw burrata, duck breast beside a strawberry chutney. Finish off the evening with a crisp glass of white wine, taken straight from one of three on-site ancient cisterns, now home to an impressive wine collection.

Drive through 70 acres of fragrant citrus trees and ruby-red poppy fields to arrive at this 500-year-old farmhouse. Whitewashed walls decorated with tumbling bougainvillea stand around a paved courtyard lined with twisted olive trees that are more than 1,000 years old. Borrow bikes from the hotel to explore the gardens and groves before heading back to your bedroom, where terracotta-tiled floors and wrought-iron framed beds make for a peaceful slumber. Tranquil silence is interrupted only by the sound of singing cicadas.

Masseria San Domenico is a stunning 14th-century fortified farmhouse composed of stark white stone buildings, lush tropical gardens and vista points of both the ocean and the mountains to the north. Previously used by the Knights of Malta as a watchtower, today it is a five-star hotel comprising 40 rooms, each with a unique character. Located amidst mature olive groves, the hotel is only 500 metres from the Adriatic coast, offering guests access to a private beach via an avenue of olive trees. Dinner is served beneath the vaulted ceilings of Ristorante San Domenico, with a selection of Puglian cuisine and fresh seafood.

Family-run for several generations, this former salt warehouse is nestled among sprawling lemon trees and ancient olive groves. The recently renovated rooms are housed in old farm shelters with simple interiors consisting of exposed beams, limestone brickwork and antique family furniture. Masseria Salinola’s restaurant dishes up a mouth-watering feast of southern Italian cuisine, including regional delicacies. Don’t miss the rabbit with mashed broad beans cooked in a pignatta (terracotta pot). Wash down your dinner with a glass of rosali (a rose-petal liqueur) made of herbs, fruit and berries picked from the picturesque grounds. The Italian hospitality extends to the bicycles that are available to peddle off those extra Puglian pounds in an exploration through the olive groves.