At the Aia is an agritourism tucked among the olive trees outside Nardò. It’s a place where cultures mesh together and people come together to nurture wellness and get a sense of the local food culture. But you might be wondering: what exactly does At the Aia offer and who are the faces behind the property? Learn more about owner, Giulia Stasi’s story in this short clip below and read on to meet the At the Aia Team and discover the services offered.

Meet At the Aia’s Owner, Giulia

At the Aia opened in 2016 when Giulia Stasi, half New Yorker, half Pugliese, decided to return to her roots. Giulia and her daughter Franci, 2 at the time, made the trans-continental journey and didn’t look back. Franci is now 7 and attending primary school in Lecce. They split their time in the winter between Lecce during the week and At the Aia on the weekends. During the Spring and summer, most time is spent either At the Aia or at Giulia’s family home Outside Torre Mozza in Santa Maria al Bagno. Read more about Giulia.

Meet Cosimo

Cosimo is Giulia’s partner and At the Aia’s culinary wizard. He is a lover of the country and has taken the Aia’s garden under his wing, using his green thumb to make the garden prosper and to replant hundreds of olive trees and fruit trees, which will be planted this Spring.

Meet Joyce

After several successful seasons, Joyce entered into the At the Aia scene. Joyce, a sunny native to Brasil packed up her life and stored away her corporate boxes to move to Europe and do Work Away. Work Away has taken her to Belgium, the Netherlands and Nardò. In fact, Joyce spent a month in 2019 helping out with At the Aia operations and the farm, and formed such a strong connection with Franci and Giulia that a year later she came back in July 2020 and will be in Nardò managing the operations in 2021.

Discover the services offered - At the Aia

Now that you’ve learned about the people behind At the Aia, it’s time to delve into all the wonderful services offered. The Aia seeks to be a place for connecting over wellness, farm-to-table cuisine, and local culture (with a New York twist and Southern Italian hospitality). Giulia’s background in Chinese medicine and astrology, made her want to create a place where different wellness traditions could come together. For this reason At the Aia you will find acupuncture treatments, massage, astrology readings, as well as private, group yoga, and yoga and wellness retreats.

Cosimo has brought his love of food and the farm to the Aia. You can pick your own vegetables from the garden and create local dishes together with Cosimo in a cooking class, or get your hands into the dough in a pizza-making class. Or how about harvesting fruit from the Aia’s fruit trees and making fresh marmalade? Of course, no culinary experience would be complete without wine tasting. You can even do a yoga class, followed by a wine tasting. Finally this coming season we are introducing pool-side dining and aperitivos. What says more relax then enjoying a delicious Southern Italian meal or local bites by the pool?

Those itching to see more of Lecce or the Aia’s surroundings can book a vintage shopping tour in Lecce or a regular walking tour of the city.

At the Aia has something for everyone! Book your stay now and take advantage of great spring promotions ! A presto!