The history of Masseria "Stefanodelconte" spans over two hundred years. The olive oil mill, which constitutes the original core of the historical building, dates from the late eighteenth century. Built by the Amati-Lamberti family, the mill was used for grinding and extracting oil from the  “olive della marina,” as the olive trees growing by the seaside are traditionally known among local people.

Precise restoration and conservation has been carried out on the ancient mill: this has allowed preservation of the visible elements of the unique process of olive pressing as it was historically carried out in this part of Italy.

Over two centuries the name of the first “massaro,” the original owner of the Masseria, has remained attached to this farmhouse, despite the many changes of families over the generations. The first owner was a man called "Del Conte," a name which referred to a farm where he had lived in the preceding decades, located in the countryside around the town of Cisternino.

I, Maria Antonietta,  have been determined to preserve intact the spontaneous, imperfect, but absolutely functional forms of the original architecture, so that the building’s perspectives, shaped in white plaster, can provide interplay with the green of the olive trees and the red soil of this region as it would have done two centuries ago. I wanted the traditional working tools with their simple shapes, once a part of working life for many generations, to be kept here as precious objects as they were considered in the past.

It is for these reasons that Masseria "Stefanodelconte" offers its guests not just an ordinary holiday, but a true experience of a place that still preserves its charming, authentic and unique character.