A labyrinth in the heart of Salento. Masseria Terre di Corillo

We are in Salento, where the blue of the sky meets the gold of the wheat fields and mixes with the green of the olive trees: it is here, in the countryside around Nardò, that Masseria Terre di Corillo stands, an estate that has been at the center of a long and stimulating architectural project that lasted about four years and was carried out by the studio NCB Architettura. This intervention worked alongside owner Guido Scorza , who began having the complex restored in 1996 and then decided to breathe new life into the masseria located in contrada Corillo, a locality that owes its name to an ancient rural settlement of Byzantine origin, the chorion in fact, a term by which a village was referred to at the time of the Byzantine Empire.

The roots of the masseria are rooted in history: the surrounding landscape is rich in evidence of the transformation known throughout the centuries, evident in the various quarries and underground spaces created around the complex, and the oldest part of the masseria itself is the base of the dovecote tower, dating back to the 15th century and built for defensive purposes. A complex of buildings and courts developed around this structure over the centuries, taking on its current appearance in the 1760s: an inscription dated 1762, placed on the entrance to the large court, allows for a date around which to formulate hypotheses. NCB’s intervention aimed to carry out a rigorous reconstruction of the existing structures, integrating a functional and modern architectural strategy. This approach allowed the full recovery of the buildings and the organization of new functional values suitable to make Terre di Corillo a contemporary accommodation facility, reasoning that NCB gathered under a single vision the restoration, the new connections between the buildings, the functionality of the structure, and the organization of outdoor spaces and green areas.

It was precisely the design of the greenery, carried out together with landscape architect Giuseppe Baldi, played a prominent role, and the estate’s garden was equipped with an original labyrinth, a botanical wonder that fascinates and captures the imagination. The design of the greenery, as the NCB studio explains, was conceived as a “full on empty spaces” connected to the architecture, the wall recnti, and the different elevations that rhythm the profiles of the masseria. Therefore, the ancient pergola, of which few traces remained, was reconstructed, reinterpreting its original forms and proportions by analogy with the masseria systems of the area, in collaboration with local craftsmen. The garden runs parallel to the farm buildings: this is where guests find the labyrinth, which NCB designed with Giuseppe Baldi as a tribute to the late Baroque garden of delights.

The labyrinth, dating from 2014, was carefully designed for the purpose of adorning the garden but also to give guests a moment of fun and calm. Each hidden bend, each unexpected fork, prompts visitors to slow down, to breathe deeply, to reconnect with their surroundings. The labyrinth of Terre di Corillo follows sinuous, curved lines that echo the lines of Baroque architecture: it is founded on a three-lobed plan that develops around three centers, where the main one houses a fountain, while along the way it is possible to come across the presence of artworks, those of artist Graziano Pompili that make the labyrinth of Terre di Corillo also a small contemporary art park.

“The garden,” Baldi explained, “wants, on the one hand, to recover the agricultural and productive function of the masseria through the creation of a vegetable garden and an orchard, while on the other, through the creation of a vegetal labyrinth, it wants to evoke the splendor of the country villa as a place of play and recreation.” A place far from the hubbub of the world, where present and past mingle, a refuge for moments of contemplation and communion with nature, in the quiet of the Salento countryside.

A labyrinth in the heart of Salento. Masseria Terre di Corillo

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.