Palazzo Donna Titì, built in the early 1800s, is located in one of the main streets of Nardò within the walled walls of the historic center, in the district or Pittaggio once called “San Salvatore”. For years the building was uninhabited and abandoned, but it has always preserved and maintained the classic layout of the buildings typical of the urban fabric of the city.
Between past and present
The lower level houses an ancient oil mill which has already existed since the beginning of the 18th century, while the main floor is composed of a succession of halls in which the original floors have been preserved and totally recovered.
We learned to know and appreciate Palazzo Donna Titì through the words of Maria Pia Falconieri and Monica Maietta, mother and daughter, who wanted to revive this family home whose name recalls the owner, the grandmother known by all as Donna Titì.
In the breakfast room, which displays some antiques that belonged to the family, they said in unison that it is a house they love very much and it was natural to take care of it and share it with others, their guests.
At the same time, it is a project that, born during the pandemic and open to the public last summer, never ends.
“When dealing with an ancient structure it is necessary to recover the original scores, looking for strategies to use the spaces in a modern way. But at the same time you always want to fix something” – Monica tells us.
In fact, for the next hot season she would like to make available to the guests of Palazzo Donna Titì also the beautiful terrace that overlooks the roofs of the historic center of Nardò.
You enter the building through an internal courtyard which in the summer turns into a living area in which to linger before going up to the first floor which overlooks the six bedrooms and the welcoming breakfast and living rooms furnished with family pieces and ornaments or furniture made to measure.
Everything dialogues in harmony with history but moving towards modernity that guarantees comfort and practicality in the rooms with high cross vaults and a lived-in air with the new classics and modern antiques that come from the private collection of Maria Pia who in the past managed a furniture and design shop.
So the immediate impression you get is that of entering a timeless place where past, present and future merge, giving the structure a unique and immutable value in respect of the history that pervades every corner of the building. Just as unique is the value that Palazzo Donna Titì has for Monica, deeply linked to the memory of her grandmother who raised her.
And in the symbol of the structure there is the triple embrace between Monica, her mother and Donna Titì who watches over them and, why not, the guests of the six rooms of the building.
Each room “speaks” of the Salento tradition with an eclectic and personal touch of freshness given by the bold colors that characterize the rooms which in the name refer once again to Salento.
We were welcomed by the sunny yellow of Pajare, which refers to the ancient local rural buildings, typical of the place, built with the drywall technique. In the large room a big fireplace stands out which today serves as a cozy reading room or “think tank”, reviving the past in another guise with simplicity, care and respect.
Past and present are also beautiful to experience in the Terrarossa room, where, as you can immediately guess, the predominant color is red and everything inside the room recalls this intense and warm color of the Salento soil.
A dark and warm color characterizes Capasune which recalls another peculiar element of Salento: the terracotta manufacturing of the most common products in the Salento families such as the “capase”, large containers in which agricultural products were kept. This is the only single room that must be booked together with the Pajare, with which it is communicating, as a family room.
The other room overlooking the large living room is the LuMare which immediately brings to mind the blue of the deepest and most intense waters of the splendid sea of Salento with matching elements and a large exposed shower that acts as a headboard to the comfortable double bed.
In Ulie the green color of the olives and oil dominates. And some elements of the furniture derive directly from the olive wood, which with its incisive grain gives a strong character to the environment.
While the only one that remains farther away and opens onto the environment in which the large convivial breakfast table dominates is Farnaru who has its roots in the past and in the ancient kitchen utensils, such as the one used to sift the flour, called “farnari” in the local language.
All the rooms have their own charm that is not taken for granted, which endures over time and which makes Palazzo Donna Titì a special place that will remain in our hearts.
Palazzo Donna Titì
Via Don Minzoni, 11 – Nardò (LE)
Info: +39 327 0419333 – info@palazzodonnatiti.it
