The masseria is an inseparable aspect of the Puglian countryside. These fortified farmhouses that dot this south-eastern region of Italy, are rustic but luxurious stone buildings that are now often converted into luxurious rural hideaways.

Masseria Antonia Augusto, a six-room luxury hotel in the small town of Leverano, in the province of Lecce, is such an authentic farmhouse-turned-private resort that combines the austerity of the centuries-old building’s bones with superior furnishings of Belgian provenance – more precisely, from the province of Limburg, where the masseria’s namesake owner immigrated to as an 11-year-old boy.

Upon entering, a custom-made piece in oak by Casimir welcomes guests into the lobby. The masseria’s walls, made of pietra Leccese, a regional limestone are hand-polished; the monastically arched hallways and their ceiling paintings – which are classified heritage – thoroughly renovated. The travertine marble floors have been given a matte finish. A long oak table accompanied by solid yet refined ‘tree trunks’ remade from oak wood, also designed by Casimir, sit in the ‘silent room’, a space that can be reserved for private dining.

In the garden, a swimming pool surrounded by Tribù furniture beckons, and the on-site restaurant serves traditional Salentino cuisine in a contemporary guise.

Where a cool wine cellar used to be, owner Antonio Augusto Vetrugno has created a spa area with a sauna, a Turkish bath and a vertical massage shower – but personal beauty and relaxation treatments are an option, too.  Antonio Augusto meant to return to his homeland with a striking project that underlines how immigration can enrich both sides of the story. “Italians are true chauvinists”, he says. “We go against the grain a little bit by bringing Limburg design into this southern Salento setting. We’ve come full circle.”