History

Luigi Tateo, the man behind the Masseria

Luigi Tateo was born on October 4, 1880, on the feast day of St. Francis. He was the youngest of nine children in a landowning family, born to Saverio Tateo and Anna. His birth led to the death of his mother, marking a sorrowful event that influenced his entire life; Luigi chose never to celebrate his birthday, as it was linked to his mother's passing.

Although his family intended for him to become a doctor, an argument with a teacher led to his punishment, and his family considered sending him to boarding school. Preferring to work the fields rather than be sent away, Luigi abandoned his medical aspirations and joined his father in farming.

Upon marriage, each of Luigi's brothers inherited a farmhouse, while his sisters received only land. Luigi was meant to inherit a farmhouse, but his family gave it to his sister, who had married a notary. When Luigi married in 1912, he inherited only land in a territory between the cities of Putignano, Turi, and Sammichele.

In 1915, amidst World War I, Luigi began constructing the “Masseria Angiulli Nuova,” named after the nearby “Masseria Angiulli” inherited by one of his elder brothers. While the construction was completed in 1917, Luigi and his wife delayed moving in until 1919 to allow the walls to "dry" due to the building materials of the time.

From Widowhood to Olga’s Birth

In 1921, Luigi’s first wife died of tuberculosis, leaving him a widower at 41. Given the large, isolated farmhouse, it was deemed essential for him to remarry, which he did on February 22, 1922, to Prudenza Giannelli from Triggiano (Bari). Though from the city, Prudenza adapted to country life, learning various farm tasks. She maintained some city customs, such as having housemaids wear coronets and aprons when hosting guests. Even Luigi stood apart from typical countrymen, being among the few who had attended school and earned the title “Don Luigi” from the community.

At the time, the farm consisted of about 27 hectares of almond, vine, and olive fields, along with various grains and forage crops. The estate was home to cows, sheep, chickens, and rabbits, as well as horses that Luigi trained. 

In 1928, a wine facility was built to modernise wine production, with most of it sold to urban wholesalers, while the rest was finalised to internal consumption.

In 1933, Luigi continued his investments in the farm and he directly contacted SIlos Samarani, a specialised company from Crema (Lombardy), to build a modern silo, first of its kind in the region. The silo was mainly used to store grains and other agricultural products.

On July 22, 1935, Olga was born. At those times, names in Southern Italy were usually given after the grandparents, especially firstborns. In alternative, names were given after Saints that the Catholic Curch was celebrating in those days. Olga of Kyev, in fact, is celebrated on the 11th of July. Venerated also by the Orthodox Church, Olga was a regent of Kievan Rus'.

Olga's Childhood

During her early years, Olga attended a boarding school in Bari, run by cloistered nuns, from 1943 to 1947. While there, she witnessed the infamous explosion of the American ship Henderson on April 9, 1945. Olga recalls that windows shattered in the classroom, and the girls were ushered to the shelter, fearing a bombing. She returned home only for Christmas, Easter, and summer. After some mischief one year, she was denied a holiday visit home by the nuns, but she didn’t mind, as it provided company she lacked on the farm.

At 12, Olga returned to the farm, where she engaged in household tasks like embroidery and cleaning, often in the company of adults, with visits from a few childhood friends like her cousin Anita. 

Life at the Masseria

In those times, the Masseria housed about eight residents, including Luigi, Prudenza, Olga, a family servant, and a family of five who worked the land. Additional workers, mainly from Turi, commuted daily, with men riding bicycles and women walking, as riding a bike was deemed inappropriate for women.

After World War II, new technology began to transform farming. Around 1956, the arrival of the combine harvester replaced the need for threshing on the farm’s open threshing floor. Horses were used on windy days to separate the grains, a practice that disappeared with the harvester’s arrival.

From the marriage to the death of Luigi

In 1956, Olga married Vito Palazzo, a pharmacist from a notable family in Putignano. The same year, Luigi’s health began to decline, and with rising costs, he leased the farmhouse and moved to Turi in 1957. The house and land were maintained by a tenant family, with only the residential area kept for Luigi’s family. 

On August 2, 1957, Olga gave birth to her first son, Domenico. 

Luigi underwent surgery in 1959 but was diagnosed with cancer and passed away on August 6, 1960, at 79.

In the years following, Prudenza, now living alone, spent summers at the farmhouse, though her declining self-sufficiency and difficulty accepting outside help eventually led Olga’s family to take over her care. They moved to a spacious apartment in Putignano, where Prudenza also relocated.

Electricity and Summers at the Farmhouse

In 1965, electricity reached the farmhouse, improving comfort and prompting the installation of the first bathroom. From then until 1970, Olga and her family spent summers there, returning to Putignano in November after harvest activities. By 1971, however, they shifted their summer residence closer to town, marking an end to summers at the farmhouse as the children preferred to be closer to friends.

Starting an Agri-tourism Venture

In 1985, Italy launched agritourism initiatives, encouraging rural tourism and promoting agriculture’s economic viability. Olga saw this as an opportunity to revive the farmhouse and began gathering information, often accompanied by her son Domenico after disagreements with Vito, who was uninterested. 

On November 7, 1987, Vito passed away from cancer, leaving Olga widowed. Domenico took over the pharmacy, while Olga proceeded with farmhouse renovations to create guest accommodations, a large dining hall, and accessible outdoor spaces.

Though renovations finished in 1990, it wasn’t until 1993 that Olga received the official license to open. The agritourism operation primarily offered weekend meals and, during summer, lodging with half-board options. They produced wine, milk, eggs, and oil on-site, with other goods purchased externally. Olga managed the business with limited family help.

The following, and also the last, upgrade to the Masseria arrived in 1997, when Paola (Olga's youngest daughter) obtained a spacious apartment out of the warehouse at the first floor, where she lived for some years.

The agri-tourism continued until about 2005, when Olga, then 70, struggled without additional assistance. She decided to lease it, and various tenants managed the property until 2018 when the lease was terminated for maintenance.

Masseria Olga and the Coliving

In 2022, Francesco, Paola's only child, decided to do something with the farm, which had been abandoned for the last years. As he was still a university student in Milan, he decided to do short term rentals receiving tourists only in August and only in the apartment at the first floor. After a couple of years and after finishing university, he decided to move back and dedicate it time to do something more valuable and with a strongest impact on the local community.

In 2024, opening a coliving became the way to give new life to the Masseria by going back to its origins: a place where people would spend their day working and their free time enjoying the company of others with a glass of wine. 

The decision to rename the place came from a desire to mark a new chapter and capture its renewed identity: Olga, a place that feels like home, the kind of welcoming, familiar haven you'd find at an Italian grandmother’s, where you feel at ease even if you’re just visiting.