What do you look for in a holiday? Some would say they look for a change of scenery or maybe exploring somewhere they haven’t been before. Take a look at Italy - to be precise, Apuglia, or Puglia as it is better known. This delightful and unusual place is located in the southern peninsular of the country, and for those that like a visual reference, it is the ‘heel’ part of Italy, bordering the Adriatic Sea. Puglia has many small and picturesque villages, and human settlement there dates back at least 250,000 years.


Quirky buildings called trulli

Something really unique about the area are the stone buildings with their conical roofs, called trulli, that can be seen in many villages in the area, but the most famous is the town of Alberobello, where the best-preserved concentration of these houses exist, and deserves to be included in any travel itinerary, with over 1,500 examples of trulli still standing. These are outstanding examples of human settlements that retain their original form to a remarkable extent and were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The nearest airports are Bari and Brindisi, and Alberobello is around an hour’s drive from either of them.

Credits: PA;

These trulli homes started being built back in the 17th century, and consist of roughly worked dry limestone blocks excavated on-site in the process of creating sub-floor cisterns and from boulders collected from nearby fields and rock outcrops. They were expertly stacked upon one another, with no mortar holding them together, and as the limestone was stacked higher and higher, they eventually created the conical roofs. Characteristically, the buildings are rectangular with conical roofs, and the whitewashed walls of the trulli are built directly onto limestone bedrock, with a doorway and small windows created for access and light. Inside, alcoves are recessed into the thick walls, and the dwellings contain an internal fireplace. Even a church exists, and despite only being built in 1927, it was created using the same technique as for the trullo.


Beware, the Taxman Cometh!

These trulli (plural of trullo, from the Greek word for dome) are common in this part of Puglia. The law of the Kingdom of Naples required the payment of a tax for every new village built and, according to some studies, the trulli are the result of a strategy concocted to avoid paying those taxes - when the locals got wind of the tax collectors’ approach, the roofs could be easily dismantled by removing the keystone at the top, passing the house off as a warehouse or abandoned building, and were then rebuilt when the taxman left! Trulli were generally constructed as temporary field shelters and storehouses or as permanent dwellings by small proprietors or agricultural labourers.

Credits: PA;

Some of the roofs bear mythological or religious markings on the outside, with the topmost decorative pinnacle added to ward off evil influences or bad luck. Some of the remaining trulli still have the beams in place inside at the base of the roof where floorboards would have been placed for the children to sleep, and some of the larger trulli probably had rooms for their animals too.


Tourist Attractions

Today, many trulli remain in their original condition as homes, while some have been lovingly renovated and turned into comfortable holiday homes for tourists. With their distinctive architecture and timeless charm, the trulli have become an integral part of the culture and identity of the area. Because of their thick walls, on hot days these houses keep fresh and cool even in the middle of an Italian summer. Many trulli feature traditional handcrafted furniture, exposed stone walls and vaulted ceilings, giving them an air of authenticity, though any added modern furniture doesn’t sit so well within the curved walls.

The small size of the historic centre makes Alberobello easy to visit. All of the must-see sights are within walking distance and easily explored on foot, and you can count on the kindness of the local shopkeepers, who are more than willing to let you admire these unusual constructions from the inside.

Author

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan