The end of the summer, the last day of our family holiday in Puglia. It felt like the perfect moment to spend in a truly special place, after falling in love with this part of Italy we hadn’t known before.
I had seen some photos of Castle Elvira online and immediately knew it was the kind of place where, if you have dinner, you’re not just eating – you’re living an experience.
Castle Elvira is not just a hotel, but a story recognized internationally:
Beyond all these awards and recognitions, I was amazed at how homely and welcoming this place felt, despite the many titles and accolades that at first made it seem almost intimidating.
Castle Elvira remains for me a symbol of beauty, passion, and the courage to turn an apparently impossible dream into a vibrant and inspiring reality.
The experience became even more special when, after a castle tour so gracefully guided by Francesca, we arrived at the restaurant and discovered that at the nearby tables were none other than the owners, Steven Riseley and Harvey B-Brown. From the very first interaction, they surprised us with their openness and warmth, constantly smiling and starting a friendly conversation. Soon enough, we found ourselves sharing the same table, clinking glasses of prosecco, and listening to fragments of their fascinating story about the rebirth of Castle Elvira. I immediately knew I wanted to learn more and that Elvira is one of the most authentic BlissPlaces I have ever visited.
I am deeply grateful to Harvey for the openness with which he immediately agreed to a written interview. Not only did he accept without hesitation, but ten days later, when I sent over my questions, he showed extraordinary promptness: within just two hours I received his detailed answers. A gesture that reveals not only professionalism and respect but also the depth of an artist who knows how to be present and attentive. This impressed me profoundly and made me admire him even more.
For me, Castle Elvira will always remain a symbol of beauty, passion, and the courage to transform an impossible dream into a living, inspiring reality.
Thank you, Harvey and Steven, for being true dreamers who know how to bring magic into real life, making the world more beautiful and enriching the lives of those who have the chance to discover you.
Interview Harvey B-Brown, September 17th, 2025
When I first met Steve (roughly 15 years ago) he owned a fantastic gastropub in South East London. The venue was amazing, a heady mix of great food, fantastic clients, and a very welcoming and happy space that had something very special about it.
From the moment I first saw the pub I knew that Steve and I were soul mates, we are so different and yet so the same. We are both dreamers and adventurers, and we encourage each other to grab life with both hands and make our fantasies become our realities.
Castle Elvira is a copy of a much older Castle in Naples. It was built around 1890 but was left abandoned for over 120 years till we found it.
We were first shown the castle by an estate agent friend who sent us a photo of it which he had found an old library book. He simply said “I saw this and thought of you”. Although he was joking, we were immediately interested and pressed him to find the castle and see if it was for sale.
He found it eventually, but when he showed us around it was nothing like the photo. The gardens had completely grown over the grounds making it a struggle to even get down the driveway. The castle itself had been ravaged by time, filled with graffiti and destroyed by kids who like to smash things up.
The fact that there were no windows, no electricity, no water and the doors and openings had been bricked up made it incredibly hard to see inside. The features were still intact like the original floors and ceilings were magnificent, and the structure itself was sound.
We climbed all around the site and once we had clambered onto the castle roof we knew we had found our home. The view and the feeling you have on top of the castle is inspirational and life affirming.
When we walked around the grounds we could barely see the other buildings that are part of the ‘tenuta’. The cottage was almost completely covered by weeds and branches, the building that is now the restaurant was hidden by a forest of very aggressive trees making it very hard to get in. The ancient tower and massaria buildings were purchased immediately after we bought the castle… so our project grew from huge to overwhelming very quickly!… But here we are.
100%.
We had both pretty much resigned ourselves that this was going to be ours from the first time we were in the presence of Elvira. We actually broke our own cardinal rule which was to not get emotionally attached to a property before we owned it. But we both had this gut reaction that we really wanted to restore the buildings and the vast grounds.
There was a lot of confusion about the history of the castle. When we found it, it came with a legend:
“A wealthy couple in Naples had an only child Elvira, who was their little princess. Every day on her way to and from school Elvira passed the original castle and eventually asked ‘if I am a princess, then why don’t I live in a castle like this one?’ Her parents thought about it and set about secretly building their daughter a castle of her own in Puglia and presented it to her on her coming of age. Elvira was so overwhelmed by the generous gift that she wanted to thank her parents by making them a feast like they have never tasted before. She sent her parents away and foraged in the forest to find all the right ingredients, but when her parents returned, Elvira was dead! She had picked what she thought were Porcini mushrooms but what turned out to be a deadly poisonous variety. The parents were so bereft that they immediately abandoned the castle until 100’s of years later we came across it.”
This was the legend we believed until we lately heard that this story was a mix of many stories but the REAL story was as follows: “Elvira was the youngest daughter of a wealthy army officer, His little girl was suffering from Tuberculosis and urgently needed treatment. The St Elia ridge is renowned to have the sweetest air in Puglia. In fact the monastery next door also used to be a sanatorium for TB. Still today people travel for miles around to run along the road outside the castle, Via Andrano, just to enjoy the life giving air here. Sadly the castle took longer than expected to construct and poor little Elvira died soon after it was finished and the family then abandoned it.”
In both stories the castle was built out of love from parents to their child, and we believe that you can physically feel this love when you step inside! There is a magic in the air.
The gardens were perhaps the biggest challenge. The grounds were over planted and trees are very aggressive with each other. It cost us so much just pulling out the dead trees to allow the ones that were still alive to breath. The weeds grow so fast here, we are constantly watering, pruning and weeding… it is a never ending process. Our gardens are now really taking shape and are our pride and joy.
We are very lucky with our guests. The people who choose to stay at Castle Elvira are seduced by the photos of the place and when they come they all say that it is even better than expected, which is lovely to hear. We mostly have people who are both interesting and interested, so our daily rooftop cocktail party watching the sunset is always filled with such fabulous fun guests telling lovely stories and laughing together. It is a joy. We pick anyone and everyone who picks us. Somehow we find each other from all walks of life.
I have always LOVED pizza and I get so emotional every time I experience our very own pizza restaurant full of people loving our food. It makes me so incredibly proud. Steve puts on our Elvira pizza playlist and we all enjoy a non stop eating fest of the best food, salads, starters and gelato in Puglia. It is sensational.
We also LOVE our roof terrace bar. The Greeks call Puglia ‘The Land Of The Sunset’ and it is easy to understand why. Our cocktails are magnificent, and the atmosphere on the roof is nothing short of magical.
14. Why is it so special to own a castle? And what advice would you give to visionaries and brave souls like you, who dare to dream big and bring a historic building back to life?
When I was very, very young I grew up guided by a magical governess. She always told me that any wish I made could come true on the proviso that I made sure to always wish for the same things and to keep my wishes secret and consistent. She told me not to waste my wishes on toys or sweets, only wish for a couple of BIG things. Since I was 4 years old I would constantly wish for the same two things.
I wanted to marry a man. I knew it wouldn’t be easy and I didn’t know how to make it happen, but I absolutely KNEW I wanted it. And then… I wished to live in a castle. In fact my mom recently found some drawings I made as child. The drawings look EXACTLY like Castle Elvira. It is chilling but incredible.
I am living proof that dreams can come true. I would warn anybody chasing their dreams to grow bulletproof skin! It is hard, financially, emotionally as well as physically. But my goodness…it is so worth it.
