Welcome to Alberobello
Alberobello, in the region of Puglia in southern Italy, is picturesque destination, UNESCO World Heritage site for its unusual districts of trulli, the characteristic white-washed conical-roofed houses of the area. It makes an interesting day-trip destination or a pleasant base for a few days - especially if you stay in a trullo of your very own.
What is a trullo?
A trullo is a small dwelling built from the local limestone, with dry-stone walls and a characteristic conical roof. It is a traditional and simple type of structure which you'll see dotted around this part of Puglia, sometimes in its most basic form used as a kind of shed among the olive groves. The story behind Alberobello, once a town of trulli alone, is a typically Italian one: its design was to fiddle taxes and fool the authorities. The local feudal lord, Count Acquaviva, moved his peasant workers here to clear woodland and cultivate the land. To wriggle around laws and taxes, it was important that Alberobello didn't class as an inhabited settlement. So until 1797, when Alberobello was finally given 'town' status, the people had to live in trulli, which could be dismantled in a hurry when necessary.
The buildings are usually square and have very thick stone walls, constructed without mortar. The thickness strengthens the structure and also helps regulate the internal temperature. The roof is actually a dome, as you can see when you enter one of the buildings, but is almost invariably built up on top into a cone shape, topped with a spire. There is generally a central room, with additional living spaces in arched alcoves. Residential trulli are smartly whitewashed, and their roofs are often decorated with fanciful painted symbols supposed to have religious or superstitious significance. The fanciness of the spire decoration was something of a status symbol: it showed the builders' skill and thus the spending power of the owners. Frequently the houses consist of more than one trullo roof: they are more like trullo complexes crowned with several roof-cones.
Things to see in Alberobello
The principal tourist activity in Alberobello is wandering around looking at trulli. There are also a handful of small museums and plenty of opportunities for buying kitsch souvenirs and tasting local products.
The centre of Alberobello is mostly composed of typical small-town Italian streets and buildings, with a few trulli interspersed among the buildings in a surreal fashion. Some older back streets are lined chiefly with residential trulli. The most picturesque parts of Alberobello, though, and the strangest, are the two areas composed almost entirely of trulli; over a thousand of them. Here the little white pointy-topped dwellings are clustered together like a hobbit town.
The most touristy part of Alberobello is Rione Monti, a district on a slope facing the modern town centre. It consists of several narrow lanes sloping upwards, with others winding along the hillside, and is extremely picturesque both from afar and close up. Walking around is enjoyable, but be prepared for constant welcomes from the local vendors sitting outside their trulli shops and bars. You'll find colourful terracotta whistles (a local Puglia thing); some simple local ceramics; trullo snowstorms; sliding pens; and everything possible shaped like a trullo, from moneyboxes, to silver jewellery. Many buildings contain tiny 'bars' where you can sample local wines, which are also sold in the tourist shops along with biscuits and pasta. Although the area is obviously one big tourist trap, the prices aren't extortionate: there's too much competition. The owners will try to entice you in with all sorts of claims and promises: the oldest trullo, a trullo with a well, an inhabited trullo, a panoramic terrace, free wine and liqueur tasting. Especially if you don't have the chance to stay in a trullo, accept the low-key sales pitches and enter to have a look around. You will be able to see some interiors, and the panoramic terraces do have good views. Heading up Via Monte Michele beyond the commerce, the explorer reaches Alberobello's twentieth-century trullo church, the Chiesa di Sant'Antonio.
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