A Locanda Tù Marchese is a B&B in a 17th century building in the historic center of Matino managed by the Protopapa family. Upon our arrival, Greta welcomed us and, taking us to our room, told us the singular history of the Locanda which in its name refers to the Marchesi Del Tufo, a family with ancient and illustrious origins who also owned the imposing palace located in front of the Church of San Giorgio.
A Locanda Tù Marchese in Matino
Local rumors say that this was precisely the place where the Marquis took young brides to exercise the so-called “jus primae noctis”, that is, the right to spend the first wedding night with him and not with their legitimate husbands. A legend that unites Matino with our Conversano where we are all defined as “the Count’s children” given that the same stories regarding the right of the feudal lord to replace her husband on the first night after the wedding circulate in our area too.
After a good laugh about this “noble” common destiny originating from a medieval fantasy based on a real tax paid by the groom to the lord to get married, Greta showed us the rooms of the palace which is spread over three floors including the underground one where breakfast and dinner in the winter and which hides a magnificent surprise: the underground hydromassage is now housed in the large cistern where water was once collected.
Guests of the six rooms of A Locanda Tù Marchese can enjoy both this suggestive space, which gives the idea of a large and welcoming mother’s womb, and the terrace. Unfortunately we were only able to enjoy the second one and the breathtaking view over the entire village of Matino and beyond, enjoying the aperitif and the very abundant breakfast the next morning, because the underground environment was not yet ready for use.
Greta’s stories continued to accompany us throughout the visit. “When my father decided to buy this building, we were immediately fascinated by its interesting architecture as well as its history. In short, it was a real love at first sight!” – she told us. The structural part was remodeled with enormous attention, recovering the floors and star vaults.
But it is not only the furnishings, objects and furniture recovered through donations from the inhabitants of the village who even gave away old family photos, that give the place its soul. They certainly contribute to forming its identity and the impression is that some objects were just waiting for this opportunity to be placed in the rooms of A Locanda Tù Marchese.
What is immediately recognisable, however, is the spirit of the old farms in the area, which is not to be taken for granted given that we are in the center of the town, behind the Church of San Giorgio, among the rooms of a noble palace.
A Locanda Tù Marchese has in fact been defined by Greta and her family as an “urban farm”: here the flavors are exclusively zero kilometer and come from the vegetable garden on the terrace and from the owned fields cultivated around the village, and also cured meats, cheeses, bread and pasta are made in the Locanda, as is the sweet and savory breakfast.
We were not able to taste the typical recipes of the Salento tradition of the restaurant as in the evening they were busy with an event outside the town: a good reason to return to add to the desire to immerse ourselves in the underground pool.
For now we made up for it in the morning after a good sleep in our small but comfortable room with breakfast platters based on local specialties and more, including freshly baked desserts, homemade jams, fruit and cured meats, cheeses, scrambled eggs.
Speaking of rooms, the six rooms are located on the first floor of the building, reachable by a comfortable glass lift and overlook the patio which houses an open living room with a large fireplace, bookcase and piano.
Each bears the name of a member of the noble marquisal family. Ours is dedicated to Antonia Pinto y Mendoza: here too we found great and unexpected affinities. The Counts of Conversano, the Acquaviva of Aragon, had Spanish origins like the last Baron of Matino. And the romantic canopy bed in the center of the room reminded us of the one we usually sleep in at home.
So we found what was written on the A Locanda Tù Marchese website to describe the room to be exactly right: “There are places that call us, perhaps even from very far away. We don’t know the reason, but even before having seen them, we know that by following their call, we will find a piece of our soul again!”. Nothing more true.
After exploring the structure, Greta accompanied us to discover the historic center of Matino, among winding and narrow streets, white-walled buildings, baroque balconies, small churches and underground oil mills. The subsoil of the village is dotted with them and the Municipality is taking steps to define a route that can be used by locals and tourists.
We managed to visit one transformed into a multimedia and multifunctional space. For those wishing to continue on the Via dell’olio between Vernole, Calimera, Martano, Sternatia up to Gallipoli, A Locanda Tù Marchese offers bicycles and a well-equipped cycle workshop.
And those who want to try their hand at preparing typical dishes of Salento cuisine just have to book a lesson in making orecchiette and sagne ‘cannulate with Nonna Tetta. And then everyone at the table because the fun educational journey ends with a dinner based on traditional local homemade specialities.
A Locanda Tù Marchese
Via del Tufo, 38 – Matino (Le)
Info: +39 0833 507562 – +39 329 6267545 – +39 340 8274276
www.lalocandatumarchese.com – info@lalocandatumarchese.com
