Oct. 19-26, 2025
This 7-day journey is designed for the woman who’s ready to slow down, breathe deeper, move with joy, and reconnect with her soul — all while savoring the magic of Italy’s most stunning coast.
Reclaim your Spark
Self care doesn’t just mean pampering, it means intentional practices that will keep you healthy far into the future. Pilates trains your body to make intelligent movements that support your body all day, every day. Travel encourages a perspective of vulnerability, of stepping into the new and beautiful in order to rediscover the new and beautiful within yourself. From this perspective, an experience of the ‘importance of place’ in Puglia is equally to realize that connectedness within yourself.
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You’ve been everything to everyone. Now it’s your turn to come home stronger, clearer, and more connected—body, mind, and soul. More than a trip to Italy, this week-long travel retreat will focus on being healthy physically and mentally through activities that nourish and rejuvenate. Whether taking a break from professional duties, children, pets, laundry, and everything that demands your care and attention, this is an opportunity to be in the moment, to enjoy delicious Italian food, wine, and the fresh perspectives provided by focusing on you in a stunning Italian landscape.
Join April for eight days spent on a masseria, a fortified farm converted into a beautiful hotel surrounded by olive groves, where you will practice pilates and discover the dolce vita in Puglia as you visit local olive farms and vineyards, learn to cook like Italians, hike the Adriatic coast, cycle between villages, spend the day sailing or simply relax each evening with friends, fantastic food, wine, and conversation.
Throughout the week, you'll slow down to explore the rhythms of Southern Italy: sharing long meals made with local ingredients, sipping wine at golden hour, taking a dancing lesson from local women, cycling and hiking along the coast, sailing the Adriatic, and exploring the nearby city of Lecce.
Between nourishing experiences, you'll have space to simply be, to practice dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing, with time to journal, to stroll through the olive groves, to relax by the pool or in the masseria's spa, to read, or to connect with the inspiring women around you.
After arriving at your Pugliese masseria, operating as a farm from the 1700's, you'll check into your room and be free to relax by the pool with a glass of wine or visit the spa. At 4:00 pm you'll gather for an orientation to Alithea's style of slow travel in Puglia while meeting the ladies you'll be hiking, cycling, and relaxing with over the coming week.
This evening you'll have dinner together at the masseria—your first taste of Puglia's hospitality and the pleasure of being connected to nature through food and wine.
At 8:00 am your day will begin with an hour of Pilates followed by breakfast.
Mid-morning, you'll set out for a day of cycling as you cover the territory that reveals the DNA of Puglia in the traces of Greek and Byzantine history, beautiful seaside towns, and medieval castles and marvelously frescoed churches. While moving at the speed of a bicycle you’ll have more time for conversation, observation, and the feeling that slowing everything down means seeing more of the world around you, not less.
In the late afternoon, you’ll return to the masseria in time for an aperitivo followed by a free evening.
Biking: ~ 4 hours
After your morning of Pilates and breakfast, you’ll give your glutes a rest with a day dedicated to ceramics and wine. Your first stop this morning will be a ceramics workshop where you’ll have a chance to throw clay with a local potter before heading out for a late lunch at a nearby vineyard where you’ll taste the great Pugliese wines.
You’ll be free for dinner this evening, either at the restaurant of the masseria or in town a twenty-minute walk from the farm.
Bus time: ~1 hour
After a morning of Pilates dedicated to body-awareness and the practice of intelligent movements, you’ll set out for a day of hiking and swimming along the coast.
In the late afternoon you’ll return to the masseria for a cooking lesson where you’ll learn to make orecchiette, i maccheroncini, e le sagne ncannulate, the home made pastas of Salento, followed by dinner.
Hiking: ~ 5 hours
After Pilates and breakfast, you’ll depart for nearby Lecce, the jewel of Puglia, as rich in baroque architecture as in its thousands of years of history dating back to the Trojan War.
This morning you’ll walk through the civilizations from the Greeks, Romans, Normans, to the Holy Roman Empire and modern Italian state with a walking tour through the city followed by free time for lunch.
In the mid-afternoon you’ll return to the masseria in time for a quick swim before dinner.
After Pilates and breakfast this morning, you’ll depart for the coast for an afternoon of sailing. Moving at the speed of the wind, you’ll observe the coastline and caves from the sea, taking time to swim and to enjoy Pugliese food and wine.
After Pilates and breakfast, you’ll hop back on bikes to cycle to a nearby farm where you’ll learn to make mozzarella or another local cheese that you’ll be able to make again when you return home.
Your next stop this morning will be a traditional frantoio where you’ll taste the local olive oil of a local farmer that still speaks griko or the ancient language of the Greeks.
This afternoon you’ll have some free time to relax by the pool or visit the spa before this evening’s celebrations where you’ll learn the traditional dance and songs of the pizzica with the women of Puglia.
Biking: ~1.5 hrs
This women’s retreat concludes with a final Pilates practice and breakfast. Your guide and pilates instructor will be available to help with the next leg of your journey as you continue to practice the intentionality of movement and the art of being present everywhere you go.
For further questions don't hesitate to reach out to us directly.
Previous pilates experience is not necessary and beginners are welcome. If you are new to pilates you'll receive helpful coaching and learn the foundational movements that strengthen muscles, improve posture, enhance flexibility, and develop overall body awareness.
This is an active trip with physical activities planned each day. In addition to the morning pilates practice, you will spend considerable time walking, hiking, and cycling throughout the week. If you do not lead an active lifestyle or would like recommendations on how to prepare physically for the trip, please write to us before signing up.
The masseria is about one hour by car from Brindisi (BDS), the closest airport. You can also fly into Bari (BRI) or other Italian cities and take the train to Lecce. From Lecce it’s about 30 minutes by car to the masseria. Wherever you choose to arrive, we recommend setting up a transfer service with Daniele Scodari (danieletransfer@libero.it).
There is much more to see in Puglia and spending a little extra time in the masseria is a great way to settle into the rhythms of southern Italy. If you wish to extend your stay before or after the trip dates, let us know and we’ll help coordinate the additional nights.
For further questions don't hesitate to reach out to us directly.
Previous pilates experience is not necessary and beginners are welcome. If you are new to pilates you'll receive helpful coaching and learn the foundational movements that strengthen muscles, improve posture, enhance flexibility, and develop overall body awareness.
This is an active trip with physical activities planned each day. In addition to the morning pilates practice, you will spend considerable time walking, hiking, and cycling throughout the week. If you do not lead an active lifestyle or would like recommendations on how to prepare physically for the trip, please write to us before signing up.
The masseria is about one hour by car from Brindisi (BDS), the closest airport. You can also fly into Bari (BRI) or other Italian cities and take the train to Lecce. From Lecce it’s about 30 minutes by car to the masseria. Wherever you choose to arrive, we recommend setting up a transfer service with Daniele Scodari (danieletransfer@libero.it).
There is much more to see in Puglia and spending a little extra time in the masseria is a great way to settle into the rhythms of southern Italy. If you wish to extend your stay before or after the trip dates, let us know and we’ll help coordinate the additional nights.
With a deep passion for travel, health, and wellness, April has dedicated her career to helping others live vibrant, balanced lives. She spent 22 years in corporate America—15 of those in senior leadership roles, where she led high-performing teams for a large organization. While she thrived in the corporate world, she ultimately felt called to pursue a career that aligned with her passion for health and well-being.
In 2017, April earned her Health Coaching certification from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, setting the foundation for her journey in fitness and holistic well-being. She went on to open her first fitness business in 2018, an indoor cycling studio, and later expanded into Pilates, where she is currently completing her instructor certification. Through her studies and personal practice, April has developed a deep appreciation for the mind-body benefits of Pilates, recognizing its ability to enhance strength, mobility, and overall well-being. She believes Pilates is a powerful tool for creating strength, reducing pain, and building resilience at any stage of life.
An avid traveler, April has explored 21 countries, embracing the transformative power of new experiences, movement, and mindful living. She is passionate about combining travel with wellness, creating opportunities for others to move, explore, and reconnect with themselves in meaningful ways.
