The birth of the manor farm was often a product of the baronial colonisation of vast areas of abandoned and uncultivated land, between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when Spain, in order to stock up on grains, granted the licence of repopulation to the nobles of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies who came to found their own real villages in the vicinity of the original building.

Even today in Sicily and Puglia, especially in the Itria Valley and the countryside of the provinces of Taranto, Bari, Brindisi and above all in the area of Ostuni and Lecce, in areas of agricultural tradition, you can encounter such buildings of considerable size, most of which are abandoned, but you can find some which have been restored and are being used once more as farms.

The typical layout of the manor farm included a building with all its openings facing the courtyard. The external walls, similarly without openings, protected against intruders and attackers and also provided a defence against possible robberies. One large entrance way, blocked by a sturdy door, allowed access to the large yard for both chariots and freight wagons.

Typically, in terms of accommodation, the building had one or more upper floors where the Master and his family would live. The lower floors were used for residential purposes as farmers’ stores and general stores. Inside the courtyard there were also stables for horses or mules, as well as for local chickens, rabbits and birds. Other buildings were used for the storage of work tools and as shelter for the carriages. In the majority of cases, a chapel or small church would be built..