Remote, rugged, rural and not as sexy as its Italian counterparts in Sicily, Rome or Florence, Puglia has been somewhat of a wallflower. But perhaps not for much longer. A recent real estate story in the New York Times featured a one-story villa compound outside San Vito dei Normanni—about 15 miles west of Brindisi, a port city of just over 400,000 residents on the Adriatic coast.

Nearly 2,700 square feet—the seekly minimalist pad incorporates a cluster of trulli, those odd cone-shaped adobe-like structures that litter the countryside around Alberobello. It’s a landscape of poly-agricultural plains known more for olive oil and grain production than for luxury getaways. Located in the heel of Italy’s boot, this is, indeed, a spread for the well-heeled. And it's a perfect representation of the region: a place that straddles rusticity and elegance.