A white arched window on the rooftop of Via Verdi 15, with the tufo stone behind, Manduria, Salento, PugliaVia Verdi 15 · today

Manduria · Salento, Puglia · Opening summer 2027

Three suites for two, in an old stone house in the heart of Manduria.

Stone vaults, the Ionian Sea fifteen minutes away, and evenings at one long table with people who came for the same reasons.

Get first access to summer 2027
3suites, for couples
1long table, every week
50'from Brindisi airport
All yearfrom winter 2027

Where you sleep

The suites

Once the stables of a noble palazzo, at Via Verdi 15. A small albergo diffuso, thought out in every detail for people who notice details, take care of themselves and of the one they love, and travel to discover, and to find kindred spirits. Nothing here is from a catalogue: every chair, lamp and table had a life before yours.

Minimum stay: three nights.

A suite with a freestanding bath under the star vaults, renderingRendering · how it will look

Under the vault

Walls a metre thick, a vault from the seventeen hundreds, a freestanding bath under the stone.

The tufo hamam of the Wellness Suite, renderingRendering · how it will look

The Wellness Suite

The largest suite, over 80 m² with its outdoor spaces: a warm tufo hamam, red light therapy and a shower under a star vault.

Inside the Wellness Suite →
The outdoor kitchen of the Wellness Suite under the black stone vault, renderingRendering · how it will look

A kitchen under the portico

In the Wellness Suite: a black stone vault overhead, and evenings in the open air.

Comunanza · the week together

Long tables, and people you will like.

Every week there is something on. You join when you feel like it.

Dinner together

Once a week we cook and eat together in the Noble Kitchen: the other members, a few friends from Manduria, and us.

The market and the Noble Kitchen

Early to the market with us, then lunch with what we bring back.

A day out

Out on the sea, a Primitivo vineyard or the beach: a different one each week.

Aperitivo in town

With the expats who already chose Manduria: faces you will see again when you come back.

Two children looking out to sea on the coast of Manduria, Salento, Puglia
A day out · the sea at Manduria, fifteen minutes away

"It began with our friends. Maria Pia and I wanted an annex to our home, to host the friends we met in decades of nomadic life as expats: a place so beautiful they would want to stay more than a few days. That is why we started Via Verdi 15, and 15Dolcevita will stay true to that idea. A place where we meet our friends, and our friends meet each other: the old ones, and the ones we have yet to meet. A stronger expat community for Manduria, one friendship at a time."

Maria Pia Ancora, Mario's wife and an investor, and Mario Dimitri, co-founder

Want to help us build it? The founding circle →

Summer 2027

First access to the dates

  • You choose your dates before anyone else.
  • Questions answered personally, by us.

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Your day here

No one is waiting for you.

New leaves on the carob tree in the courtyard of Via Verdi 15, Manduria
MorningCoffee, under the carob tree, whenever you like.
AfternoonThe town sleeps. You walk the empty lanes, then a cool bath in your suite.
EveningDinner, no rush. Talking with someone you met that morning.
NightCandlelight on the stone, the bath, the person you love.

For all members

The spaces we have in common

The white arches of the rooftop of Via Verdi 15 against the blue sky, ManduriaThe rooftop today

The rooftop

An infrared sauna, an outdoor ice bucket and a solarium under the stars.

The Gymnásion

A small gym under the old vaults, and a garden in common to sit in afterwards.

The Noble Kitchen

Cook whenever you like, or learn the recipes the grandmothers never wrote down.

The town

Manduria, a town that lives all year

Messapian walls a short walk from your door, Primitivo vineyards all around, the piazza in the evening. By the second morning, the town knows your name.

Mario’s guide to Salento, Puglia →
A quiet street in the old town of Manduria, Salento, Puglia, with tufo walls and a green door
Questions
What kind of place is 15Dolcevita?

15Dolcevita is an albergo diffuso: suites scattered across restored historic buildings in the old town of Manduria that work as one place, with one noble kitchen for everyone, a gymnásion and a courtyard. You book a suite and stay. A small circle of founding members, by invitation or application, meets at the same table, and some of them go on to buy and restore a house of their own in the old town, through ManduriaShire.

What is an albergo diffuso?

An albergo diffuso is an Italian way of staying: the rooms are spread across several restored buildings of a historic centre, a few minutes' walk apart, with one kitchen and one living room for everyone. It was born to bring life back to villages and old towns without building anything new. 15Dolcevita follows that model in Manduria, Salento, Puglia: three suites at Via Verdi 15 first, then more houses, one at a time.

Where is 15Dolcevita located?

15Dolcevita is located at Via Giuseppe Verdi 15, Manduria (TA), 74024, Salento, Puglia, Italy, about 15 minutes from the Ionian Sea (San Pietro in Bevagna), about 50 minutes from Brindisi Airport, and 50 minutes from Lecce.

When does 15Dolcevita open?

15Dolcevita is planned to open in summer 2027. The restoration is under way in Manduria's historic centre. The restoration diary at https://15dolcevita.club/cantiere documents the work as it happens.

Is it open in winter?

Yes, all year, from the very first winter. Manduria does not close when the beaches do: the piazza, the shops and the people are all still here. Winter is the season of the hamam's steam in the Wellness Suite, a hot bath under the stone vault and long dinners in the noble kitchen, with the town around you.

Why is it called 15Dolcevita?

For two fifteens: our street number, Via Verdi 15, and Carlos Moreno's fifteen-minute city. In the old town of Manduria everything is a quarter of an hour away on foot.

Why fifteen →