The Story

The monumental complex of Masseria D'Erchia (XI-XIX), surrounded by twelve hectares of "the valley of secular olive trees", is located in the Municipality of Monopoli (BA) a few steps from the sea and the city center.
The first settlements of Masseria D'Erchia are among the most important examples of the rupestrian culture which developed in Puglia around the Ninth to Twelfth centuries. The rock settlements arose near streams of torrential origin, called "lame" or "mene"", and were generally made up of an organic complex of caves each used for a specific purpose (houses, workplaces, churches).

Subsequently, in the 16th century, the original nucleus was built by the local population in the upper northern part of the Lama Don Angelo, consisting of a watchtower to defend against Saracen raids. The original tower was later expanded in 1875 by the D'Erchia family to reach its current size.
The farmhouse is currently defined as having a courtyard or enclosure type, it is arranged on two levels, with the settler's residence and the agricultural processing rooms on the ground floor, with an adjoining oil mill perfectly preserved, and on the upper floor the manor house surrounded by a large terrace (covering the agricultural warehouses) also accessible by an external staircase. The building is made up of load-bearing tufa walls and vaulted floors.

Walking in the courtyard, we discover other accessory elements such as: the upper orange grove with the visible guard tower with a domed roof; the oven; a masonry staircase that connects to the lower orange grove, surrounded by tuff walls about 4 m high, where the hydraulic systems for watering of citrus trees, powered by a deep cistern and an agricultural processing area, are still visible; an irregular staircase carved out of the rock that leads to the underground rooms and to the Aveo of Lama Don Angelo, crossing the whole property from east to west for about 500 m. The ancient caves underneath the masseria, housed the stables, the underground fireplace, the oil mill and the resting places for its ancient workers.