ABOUT
Castle Elvira was commissioned by a wealthy Romani military general and entrepreneur and was to be his family’s summer residence, the perfect place to escape the hot summers in Rome. The castle was named after the generals teenage daughter, Elvira, and the family took up residence in the castle the same summer that the construction was completed, but due to the tragic death of their beloved daughter in that first year, the heartbroken family locked the castle doors and left the castle that same summer and they never returned.
Current owners, Steven and Harvey, discovered the abandoned castle whilst touring Salento in 2018, they immediately fell in love with her and decided to rewrite history and breath a second life into the castle, the rest as they say is history.
The Elvira 37 acre estate runs adjacent to an ancient street called Via Andrano, which sits atop the St Elia Ridge, the St Elia Ridge takes its name from the St Elia Convent, which is located just west of the castle, it is a beautiful, alas unrestored ancient Ecclesiastical building. Via Andrano is known to the locals as the Vale of Health, because it is considered to have the sweetest and purest air in Salento and every day you will see many runners and joggers on this road.
The original estate was an ancient Roman farm, but this was destroyed many hundreds of years ago, the Castle and the new farm were created in the late 19th century. The estate originally produced the highest quality olive oil, although the estate also produced fruits and other crops, even peaches at one time.
Tower Elvira, although its lower room would have also been used also as a farm building, the towers rooftop and upper level was the guards quarters and a watch tower for any invaders attacking the Convent, Puglia and especially Salento was the target of constant invasions, these invasions contributed to Puglia’s amazing and interesting history, the Tower predates the castle by at least 300 years.
Elvira offers three stunning pools, two pools in the Castle gardens and one in the Towers gardens, there is also a large jacuzzi between the castles pools.
All pools adorned with locally quarried stone and the tower pool and the jacuzzi can be heated. The two pool areas offer a very different ambience, the castle pools are immersed in beautiful terraced Italian gardens that step down gently from the castle to the pools, the atmosphere here is serene and tranquil, whereas the tower pool is set amongst local cacti and succulents and on located on flatter ground, the tower pool surrounded by ancient dry stone walls. All pools have wifi connectivity and allows out gusts to connect to the pols sound system and play their own playlists and music. We offer drinks service at all pools.
Castle Elvira is located on Via Andrano, and is close to three small villages.
Lecce (The Florence of the South) is only 10 minutes from the castle, and there is easy access to both coastlines.
The Ionian coast with its long white sandy beaches is only 20 minutes from Elvira and the Adriatic, with its rocky dramatic coast is only10 Minutes away.
In this very convenient and central location, you will have easy access to Ostuni and its surrounding villages, Otranto, Gallipoli, Nardo, Manduria, and many other beautiful and well known cities and towns. Brindisi airport is just 30 minutes away, and Bari airport is one hour and 45 minutes away. Our front office and concierge assists out guests with any transfers our transport requirements.
Tower Elvira is the castle’s sister residences, in the immediate vicinity of the castle.
The tower and the ancient masseria offer the same super luxury and quality as the castle in four other incredibly unique suites. The tower has a stunning heated pool and a beautiful gardens and landscape full of cacti, pepper trees, giant agave, and olive, lemon, and orange trees. The castle and tower suites can accommodate a maximum of 22 guests and it is possible to arrange an exclusive buyout of the entire estate.
Castle Elvira offers a diverse and flexible setting for intimate family events, weddings, birthday parties and reward type business meetings. The Elvira on-site restaurant can offer a flexible bespoke catering service and the Elvira team are ready to host and mange your unique and special event.
We can accommodate up to 22 guests on site and due to our friendly collaboration with other beautiful hotels, that are only minutes from Elvira, we are able to provide options for any extra accommodation that you might require. Please get in touch.
If you would like to speak to a member of our reservations team just get in touch using the contact form or by telephone.
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