Historical context of Masseria in Puglia
The “Masseria” is a typical rural building in Puglia, in the Salento inland, whose origins can be traced back to the 17th century. It is a courtyard-farm built according to the customs of that time, considering the farmer’s needs and the activities he had to realize in this place.
The Masseria in Puglia was a real agricultural centre, dedicated to farming and production, in which the farmer lived with his family, each of them having specific duties and roles. (Occasionally there were also sowers, gleaners, shepherds and other workers who helped in the periods of more intense activity.)
From dawn to dusk everyone in every masseria in Puglia was involved in the hard activities required to make the farm work: someone sent the sheep out to pasture, others were engaged in the sowing and others in the threshing. The animals in this farm played a significant role: horses, oxen and cows were needed for the work and, where necessary, they also represented an important supply of meat.
In Puglia the farmer was the “boss” of the masseria, a tenant who undertook to give the owner half the harvest and the first fruits of each variety.
