L'Agrumeta
Casa Guadei
19th Century Villa
Salento
Gallery
The Property
The house develops mainly on a single storey, with ceilings ranging between 3 and 5 meters in height, for an overall covered surface of 250 sqm and encompasses: 2 large family bedrooms for 4 persons each with en-suite, a modern and well-equipped kitchen, a living room with separate (mezanine) TV zone, a spacious dining room with large table for 12-14 persons, a domestic SPA for 3-4 persons, a communal bathroom, lanundry with dryer and an annex - located in the backyard - with double bedroom. Each and all rooms of the house have direct access to the external areas and garden. Up to 12 guests can be confortably accomodated in the house.
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4 acres of land, planted with many different Mediterranean varieties, surround the house. A lot of spontaneous plants grow around the house as use of weedkillers is very limited. Also many insects, birds and small animals live in the garden as pesticides or insecticides are normally not used.
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Outside facilities include: a wide front patio, a spacious backyard, few pergolas and sun shelters, a private solarium, and a bio-lake located inside a 700 sqm walled citrus garden (agrumeto) which – like a small fortress – guarantees guests’ total privacy during relaxing moments. All the external areas are furnished with sofas, tables and chairs, sunbeds and hammocks.
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Last but not least: EV charging station is available at the property.
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Story
Already known as Casa Guadei, the villa was built by a family of local landowners between the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century on a 16 acres estate. The toponym Guadei most probably derived from the name of a renowned physician and academic – Antonio "Galatei" De Ferraris - who used to own a large estate in the 15th century just outside the town of Trepuzzi where the house was built after. The villa was left abbandoned at the end of the 20th century; the land diveded into 4 smaller parts.
The first refurbishment of the house took place in 2002-03 and aimed to preserve the main structure itself and allow the property to be utilized as an informal family Summer vacation house. Important structural works took place, but the original shape of the house was kept.
The second refurbishment of 2022-24 has brought the property to the present conditions including several improvements of the interiors. Installation of full high efficiency A/C, mosquito nets, brand new kitchen, low consumption white goods and lights, water filter/sterilizer for potable water, the SPA-room, brand new furniture and decorations aimed to give to the house a mix of classic, shabby, exotic and modern athmosphere.
At the exterior: the bio-lake, solarium on the roof, the garden furniture and lights; More than 100 young olive trees were planted in the East part of the property.
Renamed L’Agrumeta, after the old and fragrant citrus trees present in the walled garden (agrumeto), the property also keeps its original name – Casa Guadei - to honour the memory of the place.
The Bio-lake
First of its kind in Salento, the bio lake at L'Agrumeta in Trepuzzi was built according to the principles of permaculture. The basin was realized following a natural shape and using geotextile tubes filled with ground from the excavation. Cement works were reduced to the minimum, and the water taken from an artesian well, naturally filtered by plants. No mechanical filtration or UV sterilizer are used. No chemical water treatments are normally used in the pool. The water is moved continuously by means of 2 recirculation pumps taken from the bathers area to the plant filtration area. A flooting skimmer collects most of the leaves falling into the water to help the maintenace of the pool. Periodically, beneficial bacteria are added to the water to help the natuarl filtration processes. During the warmer season, if necessary, minimal quantities of biological additives to control algae growth are used. Small animals such as dragonflies, couplets and daphnia are part of the bio-lake ecosystem and an indication of the good quality of its water. As human intervention is quite limited, the presence of leaves and alge - in some situations - is inevitable. The bio-lake can be enjoyed from late April until end of October.
An bio-lake or bio-pond is a "new" way of experiencing our moments of freedom, totally eco-sustainable. A dip in these pure waters makes us children again. Bio-lakes are not an alternative to traditional swimming pools: they are too different from each other to be compared. In traditional swimming pools, there is a tendency to sterilize the water, i.e. to eliminate life. In a bio-lake, the exact opposite is done, life is exalted. A bio-lake is a space in the garden, or rather, it is a real water garden within which we can find plants and animals, swim and live with them: water irises, water lilies, brightly coloured dragonflies. An bio-lake is nothing more than a small aquatic ecosystem, technically facilitated. With its presence, it contributes to increasing the biodiversity of the place where it is built. For bio-lakes to become suitable for swimming, fundamental biological processes must be triggered that are usually found in nature. Creating a bio-lake means faithfully copying everything that nature does in a clean lake or in a natural watercourse. This ecosystem is composed of some fundamental elements such as plants, algae, bacteria, protozoa, zooplankton, insects and small amphibians. All this contributes to what is called in jargon the "Phyto depuration" process which can guarantee clean and almost transparent water without the use of artificial filters, sterilizers and biocidal chemicals.
Contacts & Bookings
L'Agrumeta - Casa Guadei
SP 246 - km 0.185
73019 Trepuzzi (LE)
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Info:
(+39) 3495085452
(WhatsApp or Telegram)
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​Bookings:
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