Trulli Rooftops

Years ago (1983), I bought a Sunset Travel Book called Discovery Trips in Europe.  The chapter on Italy talked about a region in southern Italy near the Adriatic shore where there are unusual white, cone-topped buildings called trulli (trullo, singular).  Since then, until 2009, the area had been on my “to do” list.  Alberobello, the town where the largest concentration of these buildings is, is a World Heritage Site so it was on my itinerary that year.  Not only did I get to see these incredible structures but we actually stayed in one.

Rione Monte, Alberobello

A trullo is the typical peasant house of the region.  The loose-laid walls have no martar and are plastered a dazzling white.  Crowning each building is a pointed dome covered with concentric slabs of mooth gray stone and losed by a slender finial.  Astrological and reilgious symbols decorate some houses.  Driving around the area, particularly near Selva di Fasano and from Locorotondo – Martine Franca road, you will many of them in fields and some villages.

Evening in Alberobello

In Alberobello, there are two areas with lots of trullli:  the Rione Monte and the Aia Piccola.  The former is the largest and more touristy but also the most picturesque.  If you can, however, stay overnight in Alberobello.  We stayed in a little trullo in Rione Monte we found through Trulli Holiday (www.trulliholiday.com) and, after the tour buses and the school children had left. it became clear that evening was the best time to be there.  It was quiet, magical and a very unique experience.