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This is the land of thousands upon thousands of secular olive trees
It is from the fruit of these great patriarchs of the soil, for centuries the masters of our land, that we draw the manna which is our extra virgin olive oil.
Masseria “Il Frantoio” is at the very heart of the “Park of Secular Olive Trees”, a piece of land which runs from Ostuni all the way to the sea.
Just like mankind everyone of these trees has its own character. Some are creased and twisted by the wind, others have been mutilated by lightning’s strike, their knotted trunks reveal both smiling and frowning faces. They are curved and distorted and each one is different from the next.
In a world that follows uniformity the olive tree is defiant in straying from such rigidity.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
 Only a few kilometres from Ostuni, Masseria “Il Frantoio” rises up in the middle of this park and is very much at the centre of a vast swathe of land that is almost entirely given up to olive trees. The farm is 180 acres (72 hectares) and it produces five extra virgin olive oils of an exceptionally high quality:
Trecolline, a DOP (protected denomination of origin) oil that is typical of the ‘Hills of Brindisi’ area. Leccina, a monoculture extra virgin olive oil. Degli dei which comes from pitted olives and Meridiano and delle Pendici which are both organic oils.
A great part of the farm is certified organic and thousands of the trees are officially recognised as ‘secular’ (at least 100 years old). From these grand and noble trees not only do we produce exquisite olive oil but, following an ancient recipe, we also make a unique olive leaf rosolio.
Aside from olive oil and rosolio we produce a vast array of home made jams and marmalades with their attractive presentation being more than complimented by their delectable flavour.
Hospitality
 Masseria “Il Frantoio” was built over an underground cave which not so long ago was where the olives were pressed. Resting above the excavated cave, the masseria consists of different buildings from various centuries and goes back as far as the sixteenth (century). “Il Frantoio” represents a new generation of agritourism. The few guest rooms are mostly to be found in, nineteenth century, main body of the house. They are all complete with delightful antique furniture and are charmingly and beautifully presented.
The lovingly maintained gardens provide a world of complete relaxation whilst the vegetable garden provides the kitchen with an abundance of wonderfully fresh produce.
An avenue of pine trees leads you to the inner courtyard, a place in which one can easily pass away the most perfect afternoon and where, in the summer months, you will dine by candlelight. Straying from the courtyard you will find our romantic Italian garden with its aviary whilst another gateway leads you to our sixteenth century sun-drenched citrus orchard, bursting with lemons, mandarins, oranges, limes and cedro.
The large herb garden is very conveniently right next to the kitchen and is full of almost every herb imaginable, all of which are cultivated using the most traditional methods. Besides the courtyard and gardens there is a library, several sitting rooms, a music room and a kitchen; all of which our guests are free to use whenever they so desire.
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