Masseria Il Melograno Monopoli

An authentic taste of Puglia’s rich land and the delicious pleasures of the Adriatic Sea. Il Melograno is renowned throughout Italy as the first masseria to open its doors to guests and reveal 400 years of history. This country estate outside Monopoli is a place of simple beauty, echoing with past lives of noblemen and farmworkers.

Staying at Il Melograno is an ideal location to enjoy both sea and countryside, and puts you at the centre of Puglia’s marvellous historic sights. Our private beach club, the Tamerici, and boutique sister hotel, La Peschiera, are a ten minute drive from Il Melograno, both fringed by a delightful stretch of sea.

The historic fishing town of Monopoli is minutes away as are the many sights of Puglia: the cliffs of Polignano a Mare, the grottoes at Castellaneta, the famous Trulli homes at Alberobello and the Roman ruins of Egnazia, on the Appian Way.

Il Melograno is equidistant to Puglia’s airports at Bari and Brindisi, which in turn are connected all over Italy, from Milan and Rome, and to major European capitals. Our private transport can bring you from the airport to your Apulian home in 40 or 50 minutes. We also have our own helipad for easy private access.

ROOMS & SUITES
Shuij bed care technique combines natural materials in three elements, mattress top, pillow cover and Shuij duvet, for ideal quality sleep. Rooms echo with this famous masseria’s past life as a nobleman’s country estate, each is as individual as their former occupants, set amidst a labyrinth of whitewashed alleys and ancient olive trees. Suites and rooms can be combined to create your own family home on a private floor.

SUITE DEGLI ARANCI
A fragrant suite approached through the formal orange grove. As you step into the hall you are reminded of the character and prestige of this generous masseria. An arch divides the room and frames an ornate antique bed, designed after the Bourbon influence.

A vast hearth and imposing cherry wood furniture give the rooms a real sense of a home which originally would have included a kitchen, dining room and a tumble of children.

Today the especially large Suite degli Aranci with two bathrooms, can be arranged to host your own family, or couples can enjoy the lavish space casting minds back to the noble life, enjoying pools, tennis courts, wellbeing centre and fine Apulian restaurant, Mùmmulo.

SUITE MELOGRANO
Returning each evening to your suite after dinner in our Apulian restaurant Mummùlo, you meander through the flower strewn lanes, past white cocciopesto walls, citrus groves, twisted olive trees and the ripening pomegranates which give the suite its name.

Created stylishly around the original masseria architecture, a stone stable wall is now adapted to a headboard. There are two bathrooms as is the Apulian way, and the airy interior is a refreshing white.

Stepping bare foot across the original chianca tiles, to look out over the pretty boughs, it is easy to imagine the rural rhythm of this nobleman’s estate when farmers left at dawn to toil the land, returning for revels in the piazza.

JUNIOR SUITE IN TORRE
An extremely interesting suite at the top of our masseria reached by a white stone staircase. The first impression is rustic character with a wonderful large open hearth being the centre of this cosy home, once belonging to a masseria family.

Furnished in a subtle country style with polished aged chianca tiles, crisp white linens and antique chests. There are two bathrooms, which is the Apulian style of life, reached by a quaint 17th century staircase.

While the masseria is a large estate these rooms are conveniently at its centre, the sitting room leads onto a terrace overlooking the swimming pool, making a morning dip very enticing, and you have your private staircase down to the restaurant.

SUPERIOR
Atmospheric rooms with larger bathrooms, some have patios and are ideal for guests bringing small pets. Step through the door and you have a sense of the masseria’s former life as a nobleman’s country estate, home to family and farmworkers. These rooms with patios are especially suitable for guests with small pets.

Outside is charming with green shutters spread against whitewashed walls, and a splash of flowers, interiors feel homely, with a chestnut chest or local lacework. Puglia’s embroiderers are renowned, the lady of this home might have made such work if not working the land.

Chianca tiles are well trodden over the centuries but polished to a smooth comfort underfoot. Everything is carefully thought out for the modern traveller including an espresso machine. The minibar offers Apulian vinelli and also pomegranate juice, recalling the rich fruit for which Il Melograno is named.

MÙMMULO RESTAURANT
Two ancient olive trees wide in girth, stand stately in the dining room, a symbol of the local organic produce that inspires our kitchens, the essence of Mùmmulo. ‘If it’s not in season, it is not on the menu’, says Chef Vito.

Each day provides fresh inspiration for our menus. The land surrounding our masseria is bountiful with rich buffalo mozzarella for creamy sauces to add to wild veal or tagliolini ragu, fields of durum wheat to produce the tiny ears of orechiette, a garden filled with vegetables and trees laden with fruit.

A dining verandah is by the pool with delightful views of bright bougainvillea set against whitewashed walls, and our citrus groves.

WEDDINGS
Your wedding at Il Melograno will be the most wonderful event in Puglia, with many enchanting backdrops between sun splashed white walls, blue pools and green olive groves, for a carousel of celebrations. We offer you a private piazza for traditional revels, a stone flagged banquet hall for distinguished dinners, gardens for parties and brunch at Tamerici, our nearby beach club.

Our complete wedding planning service is bespoke and tailored to you, from planning to liaison with all the suppliers involved and coordination of the wedding day. Our catering team will welcome you and let you discover the Mediterranean cuisine reinvented according to the Chef’s creativity. There is nothing we pride more than feeding our guests with fine local produce.

MEETINGS
Delegates are immersed in the atmosphere of an historic Apulian country estate, yet our business efficiency is faultless. Il Melograno offers an escape from the city and is ideally connected, equidistant to Bari and Brindisi, and we have our own helipad.

Events will be productive and imaginative. Choose from six sunlit meeting rooms, and an impressive stone flagged banquet hall for 330 delegates. All the meeting spaces are equipped with necessary modern technical facilities.

The multilingual staff with strong MICE experience and its rich offer of in site e off site team building activities, takes care of all the details ensuring the success of your event. Incentive programmes are full of the pleasures of Puglia, such as touring historic Monopoli in cinquecentos and team sailing from our private marina past the cliffs of Polignano a Mare.

PROPOSALS
Il Melograno is named for the ‘irresistible’ pomegranates that ripen throughout our gardens, so full of nature’s beauty. Our noble estate has a delightful romantic atmosphere, many family weddings have been celebrated over the centuries in our piazza, today our pools and spa invite couples to relax in eachothers’ company.

Suites are surrounded by bougainvillea and citrus groves, interiors are furnished for simple luxury. The restaurant is a scene for a seductive dinner, or you can dine in privacy anywhere on the estate.

Nearby historic Monopoli by the sea is one of the most charming towns in Italy, or dine in majestic solitude at far end of our marina so you can propose by the water with magnificent views of Polignano illuminated at night.

WELLNESS
Revive in a fresh rustic setting. Relax in Il Melograno’s rural surroundings and nurture your wellbeing to the rhythm of nature. We have indoor and outdoor 20 metre heated pools, there are tennis and padel courts by the kitchen gardens, acres of land to jog through, and surrounding lanes edged by dry stone walls and olive groves for cycling. You also have sea side pleasures at our Tamerici beach club.

PETRAMARE PHYSIO NATURA BEAUTY CENTER
Inspired by the traditions of holistic wellbeing we invite guests to take time to relax entirely, slowing to the rhythms of nature surrounding our estate. Before your chosen spa treatment visit our gym, swim in our large indoor pool and dry off in the sun, this is our own Roman ‘palaestra’. Then the therapeutic journey begins as you travel through a candlelit spa to soothe limbs in the sauna.

Our treatments are formulated with aromatherapy brand Physio Natura which combines nature’s purest and most potent active ingredients. We personalise rituals to your needs and offer a menu of body therapies for firming or relaxation, and facials for purifying, cleansing and nourishing.

SPORT
Stroll through our paths towards the kitchen gardens to find tennis and a padel court. Padel is a hybrid between tennis and squash, played in doubles and one of the world’s fastest growing sports. We are delighted to introduce you to this emerging sport and offer equipment and instruction.

We have two 20 metre heated pools. Swimming in our outdoor pool by the restaurant, you glide past the masseria walls, and ancient olive trees then towards our citrus grove. Our indoor pool at the wellness centre, is somewhere to relax before and after your spa treatment.

A wall of glass doors open onto the garden for sunbathing and refreshments. Bicycles are available to tour the picturesque country lanes surrounding Il Melograno. Il Melograno’s gardens are large and meandering, there are 5 acres to exercise within the cocciopesto walls, where you can enjoy the typical architecture of an Apulian masseria and muse on past times when family and farm hands cared for this grand estate.

TAMERICI BEACH CLUB
Welcome to the private beach club for guests of Il Melograno Hotel, named for the parasol boughs of the Tamerici trees that provide shade for our guests relaxing by the blue Apulian Adriatic. This private sandy shore secludes guests from any sense of the high season with all the pleasures of summer sunshine.

A complimentary shuttle brings guests from Il Melograno to the Tamerici Beach Club, while guests of sister hotel La Peschiera can simply walk next door. Guests arrive at the cocktail bar, there’s a cascade of white dining terraces and every facility is provided for a comfortable day on the beach.

APULIAN COOKERY CLASS
Delicious local cuisine is one of the essential elements of a memorable trip. Puglia is a destination for all those people with a passion for simple delicious flavours and an interest in the provenance of food.

The land is rich and bountiful, the 500 miles of coast offer a profuse fresh catch, and we pride ourselves in “zero miles” ingredients. At our Masseria Il Melograno our chefs are warmly enthusiastic and ready to reveal the secrets behind the perfect focaccia, tiny neat orecchiette, and traditional Apulian dishes.

The cooking class is not available on week ends and subject to availability. It is even possible to attend cooking class in other Masseria in the nearby villages of Conversano, Monopoli and Savelletri. It is necessary to book in advance at the reception.

APULIAN WINE TASTINGS
300 miles of fertile soils, sunshine, a sea breeze have long produced some of the world’s most popular grape varieties. Today Apulian wines are famous in their own right, and our deeply knowledgeable sommelier is eager to share their passion.

According to your expertise they may begin with how to look at the light in a wine, how it moves in the glass, the vocabulary of tasting or the best food pairings. You will discover a white wine from Valle d’Itria, a rosato wine from Castel del Mone area and a red wine: the Primitivo di Manduria; all served with a selection of local appetizers from our chefs.

OLIVE OIL TASTINGS
Life in Puglia follows the rhythm of the agriculture and this land is known also as the realm of extra-virgin olive oil. There are 60 million olives trees planted in the region, half of which are hundreds of years old and five millions are over a thousand years old.

They are real monuments alive of which Il Melograno, as a fortified Masseria, retains 120 on its.Don’t miss the opportunity to spend one of afternoon of vacation to experiment this unusual itinerary. Spend some of your time during your vacation exploring these enchanting olive oil farms dotted all around Puglia countryside.

From olive harvest to the production in the modern olive oil mill till the visit to the beautiful olive oil underground mill dates sometimes from 1700, you will enjoy always a special Olive oil tasting journey according to your time.

BOAT TRIP
Departure for MONOPOLI to board on a fiberglass hulled ship of a total length of 6 meters to discover the sea grottoes along the amazing cost of Polignano a Mare. Departure from Monopoli to board on a comfortable luxury motor Yacht for a maximum 10 people on board, to relax exploring the amazing Polignano a Mare, full of caves and cliffs that have been created by the sea over millennia.

Even with a torn and a damage sail if the helmsman is stiff and Braveheart, the boat will be driven to a secure harbour” Umberto Kuhtz seems to speak about our PescoPoeta – theDreaming Fishermen who will escort you from MONOPOLI to Polignano a Mare in a sweet experience along the coast on a trawler.

EXERCISING IN NATURE
Surrounded by the evocative landscapes and gardens of our properties let’s enjoy a work out session with a professional Personal Trainer who will help you choosing the suited activity. You will probably catch the powerfulness of your essence, freeing the brightest part of your being.

If you would like to experience a direct connection to the Apulian landscape don’t miss a riding promenade on the back of a calm, patient and nice horse crossing the countryside of Puglia, it is an extremely relaxing experience and an emotional enrichment for all attendees.

BIKE TOUR
Mountain bike or e-bike ride followed by a technical Van for any inconvenience. It will pass through the beautiful seaside town of Monopoli, with its Romanesque Cathedral, the harbour and the old town and then it will reach the 4 BC ruins of Egnazia and the cosy fishermen village of Savelletri. This cycling activity is up for anyone even not professional cyclists

RENT CAR, VESPA OR VINTAGE CAR
Choose from our lists of classical VINTAGE CAR, VESPA or CITY CAR to experience driving in total autonomy around the villages of the Valle d’Itria: scenic roads, dramatic landscapes, art and culture are waiting for you.

Valle d’Itria country side is the ideal itinerary to follow with your car characterized by “trulli” and by the dry stonewalls that surround vineyards and olive groves all around. A wide selection of original models is at your disposal.

HISTORIC TOWNS
Monopoli centerpiece is the 16th Century Charles V castle overlooking a delightful fishing harbour. Stroll around the cosy streets of the old town, very renown for the Roman Architecture style and taste the delicious local products. Meeting with your guide and departure for Martina Franca. Guided visit of the village and its old centre dominated by Baroque buildings.

The excursion proceeds to Alberobello, the capital of the trulli country, and visit of the old town, which has been decreed UNESCO site. At the end of the tour we can arrange for you a wine tasting or an Olive oil tasting in the wineries of Valle d’Itria.

Rooms: 37

Price: from 114 EUR per night

Website: www.melograno.com