Thanks to the exceptional beauty of the countryside and the landscape, since the fifteenth century the Cupa Valley was chosen by Lecce’s aristocracy as the perfect place for holidays, and numerous villas were thus built. This led to a process of renovation and adjustment of the typical fortified old farms, thanks to which the country "villa" spread and wine and olive-growing factories developed.

The Tenuta Giardini Nuovi is located in this context, inside which stands the former Villa Portaccio. There is no precise historical information of the Villa or of the Portaccio family, the original owner of the Tenuta, although it seems that the origin dates back to an ancient Milanese patrician family, whose various branches moved to many regions of Italy over the centuries.

In 1936 two tombs with Attic red-figure pottery were found here. The pieces of the funerary equipment, such as a small amphora in shiny black paint and a large Lekythos in shiny black paint too, both attributed to the Pan Painter, are now in the Archaeological Museum of Taranto.

In 2006, after a long period of decay and abandonment, the Tenuta, which covers about 21 hectares, and the Villa were purchased by Architect Fernando Russo, who undertook their restoration, but also the design and construction of the new green spaces and the renovation and regeneration of the annexed wine factory.