Palazzo Ceraselli

On a hilltop facing the baroque façade of the Basilica di San Martino, in the heart of Martina Franca, a family palazzo built in 1893 has reopened after half a century of silence as Palazzo Ceraselli: five suites shaped, one by one, through Feng Shui energy mapping by Gabriela Galbenus, and restored alongside her husband Elio Manca, a descendant of the Ceraselli family.

“We don’t host. We welcome you home.” Here, hospitality feels like family life: a zero-kilometre convivial breakfast, an open garden, and sunrise yoga in the aia, the ancient stone courtyard once used for threshing. The five suites — Serenitas Domus, Vitalis Caeli, Renovatio Vitae, Essentia Creatix, Horrea Caeli — each carry their own cardinal position, palette and energetic purpose, in a restoration guided by architect Mirko Ermenegildo Pozzi and shaped by local craftsmen.

Events & Weddings: the aia lends itself to intimate, strictly outdoor celebrations for up to 50 guests — a close-knit alternative to the region’s larger masserie.

Under a kilometre from Martina Franca’s baroque centre, and a short drive from the trulli of Alberobello, Locorotondo, Ostuni and both coastlines, Palazzo Ceraselli is made for couples seeking an intimate stay, slow-living travellers, and lovers of design, food and sustainability.

“This house has always been a place where life moved slowly. We restored Palazzo Ceraselli to preserve that spirit, inviting guests to slow down and feel what it means to come home.” — Elio Manca, Co-Founder