HISTORICAL REPORT

Relais Masseria Montalbano is a converted XVI century  village-farm and it is one of the oldest farms on Ostuni coast.
The purchase of Montalbano Vecchio by Giangirolamo II Acquaviva of Aragon represents a very important moment in this family's policy, in the first part of the XVII century, which was aimed to an expansion towards the Adriatic sea, that was not far from Conversano, the capital of Acquaviva's biggest fiefs, south-east from Bari. In that period the village had 317 inhabitants. They lived inside the farm-houses in two rows of small houses with a bedroom, a fireplace and a kitchen, all alike. The two rows were divided by a street. Inside the farm-houses there were also a Chaplain, an administrator, who looked after the interests of the Count of Conversano and some armed guards, who worked also for the Count.