Palazzo Tafuri
Historic palazzo meets considered contemporary design — Art Deco pieces, vintage finds, and Liberty-style frescoes coexist under ornate ceilings. Botanically themed throughout: every room features either a Blossfeldt botanical print or a Rocco Casaluci photograph of a local Mediterranean plant, a nod to the palazzo's former Zimara pharmacist family. Quiet, intimate, and genuinely cultured.
Book direct via email (contact@palazzotafuri.com) for special offers — Early Booking gets up to 35% off Grand Suites, but is non-refundable
Why It Matters
Listed in the Michelin Guide. One of the very few proper luxury options in Nardò itself, and rare for the Salento interior. The spa — with an indoor/outdoor heated pool, hammam, sauna, and jacuzzi — is a serious overdelivery for a 16-room property. The restaurant sources from family-grown and zero-kilometre producers and is open to non-guests.
An early 18th-century palazzo sitting directly across from the Santa Chiara monastery in the heart of Nardò's baroque old town. French owners — Count and Countess d'Espous — spent two years transforming it alongside local architect Claudio Colaci and Belgian interior designer Vincent De Cat. The result is 16 rooms and suites with frescoed ceilings, freestanding baths, and a spa that punches well above the palazzo's modest scale.
Where You'll Stay
10 room types available
Deluxe Room
From EUR396 / nightThree rooms ranging from 35 to 50 sqm, each one unique in layout and configuration. They blend Salento palazzo character with modern boutique comfort. All have rain showers; select rooms add a private terrace or bathtub. The size range means it's worth asking which specific room is available.
King or Queen · 42 sqm
Garden Deluxe Room
From EUR327 / nightThree rooms on the first floor, each around 33 sqm with a king bed and 'volte a stella' ceilings. Bathrooms have rain showers; some also have a bathtub. Direct level access to the solarium terrace with loungers and a jacuzzi, plus views over the pool and garden. One floor up from the spa. Also reached via private entrance.
King · 33 sqm
Garden Room
From EUR261 / nightThree rooms on the ground floor in what was once the palazzo's food storage quarters. Each is about 28 sqm with a queen-size bed and traditional 'volte a stella' (star-vaulted) ceilings — a regional hallmark. Renovated bathrooms with large rain showers. Open directly onto the south-facing Mediterranean garden and sit right next to the spa and pool entrance. A private hotel entrance makes these notably discreet.
Queen · 28 sqm
The Agave Weberi Grand Suite
From EUR792 / nightThe biggest room in the hotel at 88 sqm with two separate bedrooms, a living room with a beautiful Liberty-style fresco ceiling, and a private terrace. One bedroom has a 'volte a stella' ceiling in celeste blue; the other in light terracotta. Both look onto an orange grove. The living room has a dining table — one of two suites with a fully equipped kitchen. Ideal for families or guests wanting a genuine apartment feel.
Two Bedrooms (King) · 88 sqm
The Aloe Vera Grand Suite
From EUR673 / night86 sqm on the second floor with a superior king bed in the master bedroom. Sliding doors open onto a generous private terrace — positioned to catch the spectacular sunsets over Nardò's old town roofscape. Full bathroom details match the other senior suites.
King · 86 sqm
The Cica Revoluta Suite
From EUR484 / nightThe most dramatic room in the hotel. A 70 sqm loft-style suite that was once the living heart of the palazzo — a vast open space with two superior king beds, one up on the mezzanine floor. Balcony faces the Santa Chiara monastery. The bathroom has both a bath and rain shower. Genuinely rare to find this much space in a small Italian boutique hotel.
Two King (mezzanine) · 70 sqm
The Euphorbia Ingens Suite
From EUR484 / night57 sqm on the second floor with a superior king bed and a bathroom with shower and bath. The private terrace looks out over the old town centre and the Castello Aragonese Aquaviva — a good sunset spot if the rooftop bar isn't your thing.
King · 57 sqm
The Hortus Citrum Garden Suite
From EUR396 / nightA 44 sqm garden suite on the first floor with a king bed and a bathroom with both shower and bath. A large window opens onto a generous private terrace where you can sit outside. Formerly the food storage wing of the palazzo — the most direct route to the pool and spa. Reached via private hotel entrance.
King · 44 sqmThe Pittosporum Tobira Grand Suite
From EUR560 / night56 sqm of interior with a fresco ceiling, plus a massive 75 sqm private terrace with views of the Santa Chiara monastery. Sleeps up to four — a superior king in the master bedroom plus a sofa convertible into a double or two singles in the living room. Bathroom has both bath and shower.
King + Sofa Bed · 56 sqmThe Teucrium Suite
From EUR484 / nightA 54 sqm suite on the first floor with a standout Moorish-style fresco ceiling — one of the most visually striking in the hotel. Superior king bed, large bathroom with both shower and freestanding bath, and a private balcony with views of the Santa Chiara monastery and church.
King · 54 sqmThe Property
Eat & Drink
3 venues on property
Restaurant
Spa & Wellness
Treatment Menu
On Property
How you'll actually spend your days.
Hotel staff can arrange private boat or catamaran excursions for snorkelling, diving, swimming, or simply sunbathing on open water.
Hands-on workshops in local crafts: ceramics and carta pesta (Salento's distinctive papier-mâché tradition). Available for adults and children.
Hands-on cooking classes with the Tafuri Restaurant chefs, covering fresh pasta, Mediterranean fish cookery, desserts, pizza, and more. Bespoke sessions for 2–8 people, from a half-day to a full week. Open to non-guests as well as hotel guests. You cook and then eat your creations at the chef's table.
The hotel can point guests toward cycling and pedestrian paths through the Porto Selvaggio Nature Reserve and Palude del Capitano, stretching along the Ionian coastline.
Leisurely rides through olive groves and along the sandy beaches in the area, arranged by the hotel.
Guided tours of Nardò's historic centre, baroque architecture, and charming piazzas arranged by the hotel.
Personal trainer-led yoga sessions available at sunrise, arranged through the hotel.
Hotel-organised vintage car tour through the Salento countryside and nearby towns — a scenic way to explore the region's traditional architecture and villages.
Guided tastings at local Salento wineries (Negroamaro, Primitivo, Susumaniello) in Nardò, Copertino, and Leverano. Also olive oil, cheese, and masseria visits — including Masseria Bellimento and Masseria Brusca nearby.
Amenities & Practical Info
The details that matter for planning.
Two rooms are accessible for guests with reduced mobility.
The original carriage courtyard — now the social heart of the hotel, adjoining the Bacco & Crudi bar.
On-site art gallery within the palazzo.
Half-board (breakfast + dinner) available for an additional €44 per person per night.
The palazzo offers event hosting including use of the courtyard for starlit dinners.
Rooftop bar area exclusively for hotel guests, with views of the Castello Aragonese.
Small south-facing garden planted with local herbs and Mediterranean plants, selected by Countess d'Espous — who serves as President of the French Botanic Park Association.
14-metre pool flowing from inside the spa to an outdoor garden section. Heated and available year-round.
First-floor terrace with sun loungers and a hot tub, quiet and private.
BUILD YOUR PALAZZO TAFURI PLAN
Rooms, dining, spa, and resort experiences — organized into one trip plan.
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