The exterior of the main cathedral in Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage site, follows the design of the roughly 1,500 trulli homes and buildings. (Sandra Jontz/Stars and Stripes)
The exterior of the main cathedral in Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage site, follows the design of the roughly 1,500 trulli homes and buildings. (Sandra Jontz/Stars and Stripes)
A mural decorates the nave of the main cathedral in Alberobello, in the Apulia region of southern Italy. (Sandra Jontz/Stars and Stripes)
Flowers seem to always be in bloom in Alberobello, which means "beautiful tree." However, it's the uniquely conical shaped homes that are the main tourist attraction at the fairytale-like town in the southern Apulia region of Italy. (Sandra Jontz/Stars and Stripes)
Many of the conical roofs of trulli homes are decorated with symbols that represent anything from family monograms to magical belief systems or religious preferences such as paganism or Christianity. (Sandra Jontz/Stars and Stripes)
The famed trulli of Alberobello are based on a design from the 13th century, and were constructed using whitewashed limestone topped with fieldstone roofs in such a manner that mortar wasn't necessary. Found in several towns in the Apulia region, Alberobello has the greatest concentration. (Sandra Jontz/Stars and Stripes)
A row of trulli showing the decorations often found on the rooftops. (Sandra Jontz/Stars and Stripes)
Rooftop panoramic view of some of the fieldstone, cone-shaped roofs and chimneys of the famed trulli houses of Alberobello. (Sandra Jontz/Stars and Stripes)
In Alberobello, this shop is the supermarket, but with its vivid and bright colors, it is decorated in such a way to lure customers and tourists alike. Beyond the trulli, specialty liquors are popular in Alberobello, such as those flavored with almond, basil and a scrumptious hot-pepper chocolate liquor. (Sandra Jontz/Stars and Stripes)
()
Its name means “beautiful tree,” but the main attraction of the picturesque enclave of Alberobello, Italy, has nothing to do with flora.
Oh sure, there are beautiful trees there, especially the magnolia trees, and other trees’ branches seem to sprout just about every color imaginable when in bloom — but it’s the conical, beehive-shaped homes and buildings that attract most tourists to the small town in the southeastern region of Apulia.
The trulli, as the structures are called, are based on a 13th-century design. They were constructed without mortar, using whitewashed limestone boulders collected from nearby fields and topped with fieldstone roofs in the shape of a dome or upside-down ice cream cone.
While Alberobello is not the only town in the Apulia region with trulli, it does have the greatest concentration of them. Residents adorn the slate rooftops with a variety of decorative symbols that represent anything from family monograms to magical belief systems and religious preferences such as paganism or Christianity.
Theories for the unique construction vary. One notion is that the easily (also cheaply) constructed homes were viewed as substandard, and thus indicative of peasantry and poverty. While they were fine for everyday purposes, town officials could have them easily dismantled to avoid embarrassment if members of the royal family passed by.
Another had less to do with pride and more to do with pocketbooks. That theory links the construction to the Moors settling in the area and building homes and storehouses with readily available materials while using construction methods that avoided use of mortar and permanent roofing. This technique made it possible to take down the structures when tax collectors rolled into town.
Whatever the reason, the buildings proved effective, and some of the construction techniques are still used.
And today’s government officials aren’t lamenting any loss of income from those likely tax evaders. The region’s surviving trulli — there are roughly 1,500 — help make Alberobello a UNESCO World Heritage site.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which helps preserve world cultural sites, the town, which dates from the mid-14th century, was designated as “an exceptional example of a form of building construction deriving from prehistoric construction techniques that have survived intact and functioning into the modern world.”
As a result, the town draws tourists with their dollars — or in this case, euros, as most tourists tend to be Italians — who come to stroll through the town and see the odd-looking buildings with the strange past.
On the QTDirectionsFrom the Naples area, take Autostrada 3 toward Bari/Salerno until it intersects with A16 (toll road) and follow it toward Bari. Near Cerignola, pick up A14 toward Andria. Take exit Acquaviva delle Fonti toward SP125, and then follow signs for Turi/Putignanao/Castellana Grotte/Conversano/Casamassima/Rutigliano/Sammichele di Bari. Follow the ramp to Taranto/Gioia del Colle. Merge on SS100 and follow signs toward Noci. Follow signs to Alberobello.
TimesIt’s a town, so it’s open all the time, but the best times to visit are spring and summer. For the most part, tourist and souvenir shops are open from about 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily (sometimes later in the summer months), with some closing for afternoon siesta, usually between 1 and 4 p.m. The town has a handful of museums, including the Museo del Territorio, a collection on local culture located in a complex of a dozen or so trulli; it is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
CostsEntrance to the Museo del Territorio costs 3 euros per person, 2 euros for certain groups and is free for ages 10 and younger.
FoodAll around, from sandwich shops to a few restaurants.
InformationThe tourist office at Via Monte Nero 3 is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30-5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30-8:30 p.m. Sundays. Its telephone number is 080-432-4419, and its e-mail is assessoreturismo@comune.alberobello.ba.it or settoreturismo@comune.alberobello.ba.it. The museum offers maps, guides and audio guides in several languages.
