Kosher-Friendly Self-Catering Masseria in Puglia (Not Certified): How It Works

More and more Jewish travellers are choosing Puglia, and it is no coincidence: direct flights from Tel Aviv to Bari have shortened the distances, the region's Jewish heritage, from Trani to Oria to the giudecca of Lecce, is becoming visible again after centuries, and the Pugliese countryside lends itself naturally to group and family travel. This page explains, with the honesty the subject requires, what our masseria can offer guests who observe kashrut and Shabbat, and what it cannot.

Clarity first

We are not a certified kosher property: we have no rabbinical supervision and we do not prepare kosher food. What we offer is a different format, one that observant groups already use in Puglia with the big organised tours: the entire property on a self-catering basis, where the group organises its own meals and its own moments according to its own rules, depending on no one, and with no one watching.

What we offer, concretely

• 6 independent apartments, each with its own kitchen. This is the point that makes the difference: guests who observe kashrut can manage meals in full autonomy, bringing their own pots, dishes and utensils, with the certainty that no kitchen is shared with other guests. Families can also spread out across several separate kitchens.
• Exclusive use of the entire masseria (up to 16 sleeping places): one group at a time, always. For Shabbat this means complete privacy: the house, the hall and the garden are yours alone from Friday to Saturday evening, with no strangers, no services to turn down, no explanations to give. Services are self-organised within the property's spaces, as organised groups staying in masserie do.
• The vaulted hall in Lecce stone (55 m², up to 35 people) for the group's shared meals, study and time together: climate-controlled, usable all year round. The garden holds the summer evenings.
• Free choice of outside catering: kosher caterers, and those from Rome and Naples regularly serve Puglia for events and groups, are welcome, with no restrictions and no surcharges on our part. For an event with kosher catering, let's talk in advance: we will coordinate the use of the spaces the way you need.

Good to know (no beating around the bush)

• The nearest active synagogue is in Trani, about two hours by car: it is not reachable during Shabbat. Groups that choose the masseria organise themselves autonomously within the property; this is the model of kosher group travel in Puglia, not an exception.
• The Jewish museum of Lecce, Palazzo Taurino, in the city's medieval giudecca, is about 25 minutes away: it tells the little-known and surprising story of the Jews of Salento before the expulsion of 1541, and it is a visit we recommend to everyone, not only to Jewish travellers.
• Trani and Oria, the two landmark places of Pugliese Judaism (the reconsecrated Scolanova synagogue, Oria's Jewish quarter), can be reached as day trips.
• We are in Carpignano Salentino, 20 minutes from Otranto, whose cathedral with its medieval mosaic is worth the trip on its own, and one hour from Brindisi airport (Bari, where the flights from Tel Aviv land: 2 hours).

Who this format works for

Extended-family holidays (up to 16 sleeping places, each household with its own apartment and its own kitchen), group trips in the footsteps of Pugliese Judaism, private celebrations in a reserved setting. For events with particular needs, kosher catering, special setups, the timing of Shabbat, write to us beforehand: we will tell you frankly what we can guarantee and what we cannot. It is the way of working we prefer, and we believe it is yours too.

Write to us with your dates and your needs: we reply within a few hours, in Italian and in English.